LETTER: Cellphone ban in the classroom must be enforced

I read the other day in the Review-Journal that Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law a bill that is meant to curb cellphone use in the classroom by requiring Nevada school districts to have a strict cellphone policy in place. Pardon my lack of optimism.

I retired from teaching high school in the Clark County School District a number of years ago and currently substitute teach in a number of high schools in Henderson and Las Vegas. The problem is not the absence of policy. The problem is lack of enforcement.

Last year the district rolled out a policy that required students in middle and high schools to place their phones in a signal-blocking pouch during classroom instruction. I had high hopes as the school year began but was disillusioned to see pouches stacked neatly in the corner of many classrooms and not on the students’ desks (and not a word of instruction from the teacher regarding cellphones). What a huge waste of money.

The only way for the new law to produce results is to hold teachers accountable. I laud the governor’s attempt to improve the education in Nevada. But I am afraid that no one will follow up to ensure compliance.