LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – D.C. and Michigan state Democrats don’t appear to be on the same page when it comes to cell phones in classrooms.
U.S. Senator Slotkin: “Ban cell phones in every K-12 classroom.”
Michigan Democrat U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin tweeted Oct. 20, “Ban cell phones in every K-12 classroom in America.”
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Slotkin commented on a post about a recent study that found that after a year of adjustment of life without their cell phones in class, student achievement improved.
Like Slotkin, Michigan Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked lawmakers to put restrictions on cell phone use in schools in her State of the State address.
Democrats in Michigan hang up on the cell phone ban.
But, ironically, efforts to do just what Slotkin suggested failed this year. A Republican-sponsored bill to restrict cell phones in schools was defeated in July when not a single Democrat supported it.
Mike Duggan, Detroit’s mayor, used that vote to explain why he left the Democratic Party and is running for governor as an independent candidate.
“You want to know why I left the Democratic Party?” Duggan said in an Instagram video. “One million Michigan school children are about to return to school in classrooms where their cellphones will continue to be a constant distraction. With their student performance now among the worst in America, Governor Whitmer urged the Legislature to ban cellphones during class time, but the bill just failed in the Michigan House by three votes because all 52 Democrats opposed it.”
Duggan continued: “It was a good bill. It let you stay in touch with your children between classes, or at lunch and recess. The phones would be turned off only during the actual instruction time. But it got stopped dead in its tracks by House Democratic leaders. And the reason was the bill sponsor – this man, Representative Mark Tisdel. And what’s so terrible about Mark Tisdel? He’s a Republican. Worse, he’s a Republican from Rochester Hills, a swing district. You see, Republicans currently have control of the House 58-52, and Lansing Democratic leaders are so obsessed with retaking the majority, they weren’t going to let Tisdel get any credit for improving schools.”
Democratic leaders.
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In addition, Duggan said: “But the Democratic leaders had a problem. Several House Democrats had already publicly supported the bill. And some had even praised Representative Tisdel for his work. Now, you might think when you elect a representative to Lansing, they work for you. You would be wrong. To whip all 52 Democrats into line, their leaders declared the bill a caucus vote, and that meant that any Democratic representative who voted for the Tisdel bill could face the immediate cutoff of Democratic fundraising, voter lists, even their legislative staff.”
Duggan added that the Republican party wasn’t any better than the Democratic Party when it comes to partisanship.