NORTON - Norton students who love talking and snapping pictures on their cell phones on their school bus may be wringing their hands.

The school committee this week banned all cell phone, camera and recording device use on school buses, effective immediately.

The exceptions are emergencies and tardiness, with the bus driver's permission. And in the case of teams returning from road games, students need their coach's permission to call home to alert parents of the bus' expected arrival time.

The bus conduct policy revisions seek to promote safety during the trips to and from school, school officials said.

The ban will reduce the distractions bus drivers encounter, they said. "We're trusting these people with the lives of our children, and they don't want the distraction," Norton High School Principal Raymond Dewar said.

"I think you can do without your cell phone for half an hour."

Superintendent Patricia Ansay said there were "a number of incidents" among six runs in the middle and high schools this year.

"In some cases, it's a regular problem for the bus driver to address," Dewar said.

"I would rather put a stop to it before something bad happens."

School officials will track incidents through a revised bus report form, Ansay said.

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 has said.

School committee Chairman Thomas Golota said all five school councils favored banning cell phone use on buses for safety reasons.

Golota said the majority of students use cell phones properly. "It's that handful that get out of control," he said.

Cell phone use is growing in the younger grades, Yelle Elementary School Principal Lisa Farrell said.

"I think sometimes we forget students have them. And if they don't have the guidance to have them ...," Farrell.

Dewar said the technology has made students photographing each other a greater concern.

"When you took a Kodak picture 20 years ago, that was it. Now it could end up on the Web," Dewar said.

MICHAEL GELBWASSER covers Norton for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0439 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.