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Aug. 4, 2009

Under current U.S. laws, the Federal Communications Commission can only grant federal agencies — not state or local authorities — permission to jam cell phone signals. The jamming devices prevent cell tower transmissions from reaching mobile phones within a certain radius.

Meanwhile, a small northern Iowa school district has almost given up on a plan to block students from using their mobile phones in class. The St. Ansgar school board proposed acquiring a specific jamming device to keep students in the combined middle and high school from calling and texting during class.

However, the idea died on its own because of a federal law that outlaws the use of such equipment.

Jim Woodward, superintendent of the St. Ansgar school district says "as far as we're concerned, it's a moot point and we're not going to pursue it at all, at least not in the foreseeable future."

St. Ansgar, which already has banned cell phones, isn't the first school district to weigh using a jamming device to keep students from using them in class. The Penn Hills district in Pittsburgh considered jamming mobile phones in March but dropped the idea after learning of the FCC law.

Meanwhile, the Mead school district in Spokane, Wash. acquired a wireless phone jammer for less than $100 and conducted a 3-day test before learning it was illegal. In Canada, the Port Hardy Secondary School on Vancouver Island, B.C. also conducted a test that was abandoned because of legal concerns that had to do with Canadian laws.

Even New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has suggested jamming wireless signals to keep students from using their cell phones during class.

Correctional leaders of 26 states recently signed a petition asking permission to jam mobile phone signals inside state penitentiaries and thwart inmates' forbidden phone calls. The petition is going through normal channels but no FCC permission has been given yet.

In the case of schools, officials said they were frustrated that students kept using phones in class despite the ban. "I don't think they have a place in the educational environment," said Ed Kleinwort, a member of the St. Ansgar school board.

"The educational environment is supposed to be about students learning and teachers teaching and teachers simply can't teach over a cell phone. If a student is busy on the phone, they aren't learning. It's a simple as that," added Kleinwort.

James Hendrickson, a physical education teacher at St. Ansgar, said cell phones are a huge problem, with some classes being interrupted almost every other hour. Even his class is not immune from interruptions.

"When I have activities and they don't change and have their backpacks with them or their pants on, once in a while it happens," Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson also raised concerns with continuing advancements in technology, suggesting they could make it much easier for students to cheat.

"You never know with the capabilities that modern wireless phones have today. This means the playing field isn't level anymore, and that is a very big problem we need to address and address very soon," he added.

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Source: St. Ansgar School District.