Gov. Kelly Armstrong. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
(. North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota lawmakers passed bills that would prohibit student cellphone use during the school day, reviving one bill that had been defeated last week.
Senate Bill 2354 and House Bill 1160 differ on which schools would be affected and whether school districts would have the power to allow cellphone use during noninstructional time, such as in between classes or over the school lunch period. The bills are expected to have their differences ironed out in conference committees, each made up of three legislators from each chamber.
Senate Bill 2354 passed the House on a 61-29 vote.
The Senate bill, amended by the House Education Committee, would require all schools, public and private, to follow the statewide student cellphone ban. The House bill would only affect public school students.
Under the Senate bill, students would be allowed to stow their phones in their lockers while turned off, or on silent, instead being secured in a lockbox or lockable pouch purchased by the school district.
