(The Center Square) – A bill that would require school boards across Wisconsin to create rules banning cell phones during instructional time took another step to becoming law when the Wisconsin Senate approved Assembly Bill 29 with a 29-4 vote.

Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing, cited a Marquette poll that showed 89% support a cell phone ban during instructional time and 72% support an overall ban.

“These are devices that are taking away from our kids’ learning and folks are asking for us to do something about it,” Cabral-Guevara said.

States across the country have moved to ban cell phones at school or during certain parts of school.

https://www.thecentersquare.com/issues/education/article_f1abda1c-050d-5a12-8241-91c38c13edd8.html

“Wisconsin seems to be the only state where this is a partisan issue,” Cabral-Guevara said.

Sen. Melissa Ratcliff, D-Cottage Grove, said that the bill would take away local control and cause safety issues if students didn’t have access to cell phones during a lockdown.

“This measure, though well meaning, would be an immediate step backward,” Ratcliff said.

Ratcliff said that she received a text message from her daughter, who was at a high school not far from Abundant Life Christian School in Madison when a shooting occurred.

She believes that students should have access to their phones and had “strong opposition to the bill.”