COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two provisos are now in effect, requiring students to use the bathroom of their assigned sex at birth and banning cell phones in classrooms. However, there are still a few steps to take for both policies.
The Board of Education will have to create a uniform policy regarding cell phone bans for all schools to implement, and school districts will be required to adopt it. The Department of Education is working with school districts and other education leaders to create that policy, said Director of Media Relations Jason Raven.
"We want the policy to be practical, easy to implement, and does not require our teachers, who work so hard every single day, to play cell phone police in our classrooms," said Raven. "We're very confident that school districts are going to want to do this. This is in the best interest of students."
According to a recent survey from the Department of Education, 92% of South Carolina teachers support a policy limiting cell phone access, with 55% supporting a complete ban during the school day.
He said they are considering the concerns of parents, including those worried they wouldn't be able to contact their child in an emergency if they didn't have their phone.
"If there is an emergency in a school, law enforcement tells us the most important thing that a student can do in that event is pay attention to the adult in the room that is getting them to safety," said Raven. "We want parents to know that safety is a big part of this; we’re listening to them, and all protocols will be put in place to address any concerns.”
The department hopes to vote on a final version of this policy at their meeting on Aug. 13. If approved, school districts must adopt it by January 2025.
The "bathroom bill" proviso leaves the policy creation in the hands of school districts. The proviso requires state-funded districts to enforce regulations ensuring students use the bathroom or changing room of their assigned sex at birth.
Cristina Picozzi, the executive director of the Harriet Hancock LGBT Center, said the new policy will have devastating impacts on transgender kids.
"It’s not protecting them; it puts them at risk and there are more important things that we should be concerned about regarding our schools and our public education than this," said Picozzi. "You are telling these kids that they don’t exist in the way that they are trying to present themselves. That this is not legitimate in the way that their identities and the way they exist are.”
News19 contacted several school districts for an update on their implementation of this policy ahead of the next school year. Only Richland Two responded before the deadline. The school district said it would “comply with legal requirements regarding bathrooms.”