EXPERT ADVISORY

University of Michigan experts are available to discuss a new policy that will ban cell phone use in Michigan’s K-12 classrooms.

Brian Jacob is a professor of education policy and economics at the Ford School of Public Policy, as well as co-director of the Youth Policy Lab, a joint research center of the Ford School and Institute for Social Research. He is part of a multidisciplinary team of U-M researchers who received a grant from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct interviews and surveys to understand how school cell phone policies across the state affect community violence, including fights in school, school discipline and police incidents.

“The legislation signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today is a step in the right direction for all Michigan children,” he said. “There is a large body of research indicating that cell phone use (and social media engagement in particular) is negatively associated with the academic engagement and mental health of young people. Many school districts have already taken steps to limit student access to phones during instructional time. The legislation today will require all districts to set policies about phones in schools.

“Importantly, this legislation is only the first step. The effectiveness of any policy will depend on the specifics of when and how phone use is restricted, and how well the policy is implemented and enforced. My colleagues and I are currently studying school cell phone policies in Michigan with the goal of understanding the types of policies that are most effective, and how the optimal policy may differ across schooling contexts.”

Elyse Thulin is an assistant research professor of health behavior and health equity at the School of Public Health and assistant research professor at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. She studies the prevalence of cell phones and other electronic forms of dating violence, and researches the role of cell phones in youth violence and bullying. Thulin also evaluates anonymous reporting systems, or systems that let students, schools and communities report concerning behaviors around violence or self-harm. Cell phones are heavily integrated into anonymous reporting systems.

Margaret Murray is an associate professor of communication at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She has written and spoken extensively about school cell phone bans.