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Norton weighs pros, cons of school cell ban
Top Headlines School committee member Kevin O'Neil said this week that the policy was too stringent, prohibiting students from calling their parents if they forget a project at home or their bus is delayed. But Norton police and the school bus director have raised concerns about allowing students to use recording devices, which are included on most cell phones, on buses, Superintendent Patricia Ansay said. "For safety reasons, we're better off not having cell phones on the bus," she said. "I usually err on the side of safety." School officials are further revising the policy before seeking school board approval. The school board last revised the bus policy in 2000. Police say a state law prohibiting students from using electronics in the classroom also applies to school buses, Ansay said. Ansay said one parent called her last week to say their child saw an "inappropriate video was being passed along on the bus seats." O'Neil said the policy would ban practical uses of cell phones. He said a school bus in Rhode Island was late getting students home once due to traffic. "The only way the children got in contact with their parents was through cell phones," O'Neil said. Chairman Thomas Golota asked Ansay how allowing students to use cell phones was "different from 40 kids talking to one another" on the bus. Golota said that last year, his daughter's bus was 40 minutes late coming home. He was concerned, because she didn't have a cell phone. Ansay said that when accidents happen, the bus dispatcher and assistant call parents. Nourse Elementary School PTA Co-Chair Annie Givens said that when her daughter's bus was delayed, "we had messages everywhere." "As a parent, it doesn't seem like a cell phone would ever be a need on the bus, but it would be a convenience," Givens said. MICHAEL GELBWASSER covers Norton for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0439 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.
Post Your Comments kojismom wrote on Oct 9, 2008 12:26 PM: " I didn't need a cell phone back in my day either, but then we had a pay phone to use for emergencies, etc. As for getting called if buses are running late, perhaps that is a newer policy. When my son was in elementary school (in Norton) there was several times he was more than 30 minutes late and I didn't get a call. The issue with porn should be handled the same way as if a kid got caught with a picture he printed off the internet or pulled out of a magazine. Those are 2 seperate issues in my opinion. " realist wrote on Oct 9, 2008 8:09 AM: " Banning electronics on a bus? School buses are not an extension of the classroom. True- discipline must be maintained for safety sake but to start dictating individual behavior is ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with listening to an iPod, texting friends or using an electronic calculator on the bus. BTW - if a school superintendent cites a law, ask to see a copy. It usually shuts them up. For the helicopter parent who complained about an inappropriate video being passed among the seats - it happens. When I was in school there was the occasional pornographic photos passed around. It's going to happen. " Hojo20 wrote on Oct 9, 2008 8:07 AM: " Cell phones aren't nescessary. I went through Kindergarten to College without having one. " or
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