Two bills from Rep. Stephanie McClintock aimed at helping student outcomes and improving learning opportunities cleared the House Education Committee on Tuesday.

The committee passed House Bill 2018, which would improve students’ educational success by restricting cell phone use in public schools. Students’ use of mobile devices during class time continues to negatively affect students’ learning and outcomes. Some school districts have started banning cellphones during the school day and are seeing promising results.

“Mobile device use in our public schools has become a chronic issue and our kids are suffering because of it,” said McClintock, R-Vancouver. “We want to eliminate the distraction these devices are creating during class time. This move is necessary if we want to improve learning outcomes.”

The bill would start a pilot program to study the best methods for restricting cell phones taking into consideration different exceptions to the rule, such as students with disabilities or for specific instructional purposes. Once the report is completed, school districts would be required to adopt a policy by the 2027-28 school year that aligns with methods that were found to be most successful for students through the pilot.

“It’s time to get kids focused on learning again, and that’s what this bill would do,” added McClintock. “The numbers don’t lie. Grades and test scores throughout Washington are not where they should be and cell phone use during class time is part of the problem. I think this policy will not only benefit learning but also help the mental health of students.”

Additionally, the committee unanimously passed House Bill 2038. The legislation would require the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create a voluntary online survey for parents or guardians to fill out when transferring or withdrawing a student from a public school.

“In my past work in human resources, whenever someone left our company, we would conduct an exit survey and seek their feedback to learn how we could do better,” said McClintock. “It’s no secret we are losing too many kids from public schools, which can only mean we are not meeting the needs of our students and parents.”

House Bill 2038 would require the survey to be operational by Sept. 1, 2024, and would require public schools to notify parents or guardians with a link to the survey when they request to transfer or withdraw their student.

“Unless we know why they are leaving, we aren’t going to know how to improve. So, the goal of this bill is to collect information from parents that choose to transfer their students from the public school system to an alternative learning experience,” added McClintock. “We would then build policy based on those results so we can better meet the needs of our students and parents.”

The 2024 legislative session is scheduled to last 60 days and end on March 7.

Information provided by Washington State House Republicans
houserepublicans.wa.gov