The Labor Party in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has promised to ban mobile phones in high schools if elected in next year’s state election.
Parents have been calling for the change but the NSW government has not been listening, opposition leader Chris Minns said on Sunday.
“As a parent of three children myself, I share the concerns of parents worried about the impact of phones and devices on our kids and their learning,” Minns said in a statement.
“NSW Labor will restrict phone use in schools to help cut distraction, deal with cyber-bullying and help improve student outcomes.”
Phones are already banned in NSW primary schools but there are no mandatory restrictions in place for high school settings.
Under Labor’s proposal, all NSW public school students will have their phones turned off during school hours and kept out of sight until the end of the day.
There will be exemptions for students with special circumstances, like those needing to monitor health conditions.
South Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and Western Australia have already implemented a mobile phone ban in schools.
NSW residents will go to the polls on March 25.
