One year after Texas phone ban, Valley schools see positive impact

Omar Zapata, myRGV

After a full school year with the Texas cellphone ban in place in schools, Rio Grande Valley school district administrators and educators are highlighting the benefits they see in students, learning and a decline in bullying.

At Brownsville ISD, Rivera Early College High School Principal Obed Leal said that his school has had issues with cellphones in the past, such as disrupting the classroom and students not being focused. But he forecast that the cellphone ban will help in the long run and has seen an impact as early as in the first year of its implementation.

“We’re seeing already an improvement — in the way kids behave, in the focus of students,” he said. “We know every year is going to get better and better.”

Kimberly Kizer, an English teacher at River Early College High School, said she sees improvement in different aspects. Students used to rely on their cellphones heavily to take pictures of lecture notes instead of writing down notes.

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