Since the early noughties, Irish teenagers have been taking their phones to school. We all remember having our phones taken off us for days at a time if we were caught in class texting someone about lunch.
Now, under a new law, students could be forced to hand up their mobile phones at the start of the school day and collect their phones at the end of the school day. A new bill proposed by the Seanad will regulate the use of mobile devices in schools.
The Education (Digital Devices in School) Bill 2018 will propose a Code of Behaviour which would see standard rules for the use of digital devices apply to schools across the country.
Not only will phones be limited on school grounds, the bill hopes to prohibit cyberbullying, harassment and intimidation. The bull will suggest that schools have an internal discipline process.
The legislation is being proposed by Independent senators Billy Lawless, Victor Boyhan and Gerard Craughwell. Lawless does believe in banning devices outright and the proposal has not been opposed by the Government. The main aim of the proposal will be to combat the negative effects of unsupervised use of devices.
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In the EU, France is set to ban mobile phones in schools for children up to the ages of 15.
H/T: RTÉ
