(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has overwhelming voted in favor of requiring schools to ban students from using their cell phones while they’re in class.
Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Birmingham, praised the Ottumwa School District and Des Moines Hoover High School for being trailblazers on the issue. A principal at Hoover where cell phones must be kept in a student’s backpack, told Axios Des Moines there was a 31 percent increase in As and Bs earned by students in the fall semester and a six percent drop in the number of failing grades.
The bill, which has the backing of Governor Kim Reynolds, passed the House by an 88-to-nine vote. A similar bill is eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate.