In Flint, Michigan, students will return to class after winter break with a new rule in place: Their cellphones (and hoodies) will be banned from school, largely in the name of safety.
“When we think about our scores, when we think about all of the things that are surrounding the hurt and the pain that our scholars are feeling, cell phones are a big deal,” Superintendent Kevelin Jones II said ahead of the Flint school board’s Dec. 13 vote. “It’s a big part of the bullying. It’s a big part of the reason why our scholars are not on task in class.”