(Radio Iowa) – The top Democrat in the Iowa House says cell phone policies for Iowa schools should be left up to school boards. Governor Kim Reynolds has introduced legislation that would require school boards to adopt a policy that bans cell phone use during class time. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says the legislature should require schools to have a cell phone policy for students, but not dictate what that policy should be. “I just don’t want us to be mandating what a tiny school district should do versus what a giant school district should do because they know best how to implement these policies and they know their students and their teachers,” Konfrst says.

Seventy-two percent of U-S high school teachers who participated in a Pew Research Center survey said cell phone use during class was a major distraction. “I don’t want distracted students in classrooms either,” Konfrst said, “but I really don’t want teachers to have one more thing to have to do and now they have to police cell phone usage in addition to the other things we’ve asked them to do. So, if we can allow local districts to make these decisions, they have proven to us that they can do it in a way that is best for their community and I think that is the best way to do it.”

Konfrst made her comments during a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. Governor Reynolds says cell phones are not only a distraction, but a deterrent to development in the classroom. She says if her bill becomes law, the Iowa Department of Education will provide sample policies with room for potential common-sense exemptions. The legislation also requires schools to provide students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade with social media training.