A law banning mobile phones in schools has been introduced to the State Duma

Will smartphones be confiscated before entering class or school?

In mid-November, the State Duma is scheduled to hold readings on a bill banning the use of “communication devices” in schools, that is, mobile phones. For children, of course. The introduction of the draft was preceded by a broad public discussion, in which the Ministry of Education had to become involved. They say that you can bring “mobile phones” with you to school, but you shouldn’t use them in class.

The “telephone” discussion began two years ago, when a wide stream of footage of what was happening in lessons, secretly filmed by students, flowed onto the Internet. In many videos, verbal and even physical violence came from teachers. Of course, children also “played” with their phones during lessons, teenagers viewed inappropriate content during breaks…

Back in 2022, the Ministry of Education updated SanPiNs on the use of mobile phones. According to the new rules, using gadgets in schools is very harmful. And this can be done only based on the “requirements of the educational process.” The head of the department clarified that smartphones and social networks “often distract and negatively shape the child.” Therefore, they must be removed before entering class or school.

And now a bill has been submitted to the State Duma proposing amendments to the law “On Education”. The authors were as many as 20 deputies and two senators, including Olga Kazakova, Pyotr Tolstoy, Boris Chernyshev, Nina Ostanina, Anatoly Wasserman, Liliya Gumerova and others.

The explanatory note states that the legislative initiative is aimed at “improving the legal status of teaching staff.” The document talks a lot about eliminating the legal imbalance between teachers and students, maintaining discipline and internal rules.

“In order to create favorable conditions for teachers to conduct training sessions during the implementation of basic general education programs, it is established that during their implementation the use of communication means for students is not allowed,” the explanatory note states.

Exceptions for the confiscation of “communication means” are the requirements of the curriculum and “situations involving a danger to the life or health of students or employees of an educational organization.”

The fact that the bill will be considered at a plenary session in November and will undergo the first reading is evidenced by a vote on the social network of the State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, launched the day before. All previous internal surveys of his subscribers were effective: before the abandonment of the Bologna system, the ban on the promotion of non-traditional values, etc. Volodin already had 83% vote for the ban on mobile phones in schools.

Commenting on the bill “on phones” this time, the head of the Ministry of Education said that this is not about banning gadgets in schools. Only in class. And then, you can use it, but “with the permission of the teacher.” They say there is no need to worry, “the student will always be in touch with his parents.” At the same time, it is clarified that “in the event of controversial or conflict situations arising at the school, it is planned to assign a major role to the director in resolving them.”

From a legal point of view, the ministry’s recommendations do not oblige anyone to anything; the level of subordination of schools is not departmental, but in the vast majority is municipal,” says lawyer Stanislav Popov. — Schools themselves, in theory, can include a ban on the use of mobile phones in their internal regulations. But these rules do not take precedence over federal ones. And, from a legal point of view, they are “filkin’s letters”.

Further, all these changes are proposed in the Federal Law “On Education”. Taking away a phone violates the property rights of the child and parent; this is already an article of the Civil Code. Even if the child is a minor, the law gives him legal capacity and the right to use the property that the parents transferred based on the act of gift (purchase of a telephone). Taking away property is impossible without the consent of the owner. And if you place it in a box or closet for the duration of the lesson, the student or his legal representative must voluntarily sign a storage agreement. Otherwise, all this will also be illegal.