VALDOSTA — The final say on whether pagers and cellular phones have a place on school campuses rests with local officials.

Valdosta Board of Education Chair Dr. Joe B. Crane Sr. said he thinks board members should discuss the recent passage of Senate Bill 29, which deals with student possession of electronic communication devices on school campuses.

This bill, which went into effect July 1, authorizes local boards to establish a policy permitting or prohibiting the possession of these devices by students in school with one exception.

Professional Association of Georgia Educators General Counsel Jill Hay said, “This exception is that if possession of an electronic communication device by a student in school is permitted, the local board policy shall not permit the use by a student of any personal electronic communication device during classroom instructional time.”

The need for the policy arose from the potential for disruptive ringing and beeping in classrooms.

“I think we should sit down as a board and see what each other thinks about the issue,” Crane said. “It sounds like a good item for the agenda Monday night.”

According to Education World, many school systems and states passed policies or laws in the late 1980s and early 1990s prohibiting students from using cellular phones and pagers in school. This was due, in part at the time, to their association with drug dealers and the disruptive nature of the devices.

However, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and recent school shootings prompted Georgia legislators and others to reconsider the original law. Senate Bill 29 repeals Georgia’s 1989 ban on cellular phones and pagers on school grounds.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Richard Marable, D-Rome, who is chairman of the senate education committee and a former classroom teacher.

He told Education World, “Times change. There are certainly a great many parents now, and I am one of them, who rely on electronic devices to keep track of their children. Certainly, we can protect the educational integrity of schools and still utilize this high technology.”

The Gwinnett County Board of Education unanimously lifted its ban on cellular phones and pagers Thursday. Dekalb County school officials are considering a policy change.

Outside Georgia, Maryland and Virginia legislators lifted bans on the use of electronic devices on school campuses two years ago.

Lowndes County School Board Chair Bill Fuqua said the county’s policy will remain unchanged for now unless board members decide otherwise. He said no one has really expressed concern over the matter at this time. Until that happens, he sees no reason to consider a policy change.

Currently, cellular phones and pagers are not allowed on school campuses in the Lowndes County and Valdosta City school systems except for health or other unusual reasons approved by the board of education. Students caught with such devices are subject to a wide range of punishments including confiscation of the item, placement in an alternative education program, and suspension.

Marable said the policy “would help parents set policies and guidelines and help ease their concerns.”



To contact reporter Jessica Pope, please call 244-3400, ext. 255.