Some politicians who voted in favor of banning phones in , Georgia , public institutions for students in grades K-8 said they felt like the policy would render classrooms safer.
” This is indeed … the first and only class security act, real school security act, that we’ve heard this time”, said Sen.  , Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, before voting in favor of the restrictions last week.
But the people of individuals who were at , Apalachee High School , on , Sept. 4, when a 14-year-old is accused of shooting and killing four persons, don’t see it that way. They’ve asked Gov.  , Brian Kemp , to reject the costs.
” Gov. Kemp, I also urge you to reconsider the cellphone ban in schools” , , Tinya Brown, whose daughter is a freshman at , Apalachee High, said at a press conference Friday demanding lawmakers take action about gun violence. ” It was only through text messages that families knew what was happening”.
Layla Renee Contreras, whose girl goes to the university and whose baby works it, asked for the same.
” Now, instead of counteracting these root issues ( of gun violence ), a cellphone ban for kindergarten through eighth grade is about to be signed into law. A ban that does nothing to preserve our children safe from school shootings. A moratorium that ignores the very real and present risks our societies face”, she said. ” I’m not here to reject the job that’s been done. I’m here to say it’s no enough”.
Brown, Contreras and others at the press event criticized politicians for not taking action to address weapons exposure after the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s story.
A spokeswoman for Kemp said that security and safety has been a major concern throughout his administration, including after the , Apalachee High , firing.
” As with all legislation passed by the , General Assembly, ( the cellphone ban ) will undergo a thorough review process during the 40 days following the conclusion of the legislative session before the governor makes any decisions”, the spokesperson said in a statement.
Brown and Contreras said the texts they received from their loved ones on , Sept. 4 , informed their mind that a restrictions was not the right move. Brown’s daughter texted her and asked her to call 911 and said she loved her. Brown wasn’t ready to get through to the police station or the institution, and two days passed before she learned her daughter was safe. Contreras’s girl texted her from someone else’s phone. ” It’s real”, she wrote.
Their experience echo those of other people from , Barrow County, where , Apalachee High , is located. Those family members have said that they got word messages from their students before they got warning from the class.
Universities in the , Atlanta , region that have already implemented a smartphone restrictions say they’ve established methods to inform people in case of an emergency. Proponents of the ban say phones may be distracting in an emergency if kids are on their devices more than paying attention to educators and law enforcement.
In the same week they approved the smartphone restrictions, legislators changed House Bill 79, which may give tax credits to individuals for the secure storage of guns, to incorporate a sales tax getaway for people who purchase guns or ammunition. Lawmakers also removed a portion of House Bill 268 — the omnibus school safety bill — that would establish a database of school threats. Brown, Contreras and other school safety advocates hoped the database would help school officials intervene before students turn to violence.
Last year, Kemp signed more than 300 bills into law, he vetoed 12.
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