L&T Publisher Earl Watt

As the legislative session begins to wind down, this could possibly be one of the most consequential sessions in recent memory or be the biggest letdown in the past 25 years.

There are some victories so far, and most recently it has to be noted that the bipartisan passage of removing cell phones form classrooms was a monumental success.

My phone tells me how much time I average using the phone, and I am always shocked to see just how much I am on it. If I had access to a phone during school, I know that time would have been even higher.

Having access to a phone is the same as having access to a Nintendo, or an instant cheat sheet, or a communication device, all of which are counterproductive to the process of learning.

Learning requires focus on data and how it is applied, and anything that distracts from that focus will lower the bar on academic absorption. While I was a pretty good student, my education would have suffered if I had access to a modern cell phone. There is a time for socializing and a time for study, and teenagers are more focused on the former rather than the latter without understanding the long-term consequences of that decision.

We had texting, but it was in the form of writing notes and passing them between classes, not ongoing conversations during class. And if a teacher caught you reading your note in class, it got shared with the entire class. Could you imagine the outrage today if a teacher confiscated a students phone and read the text message string?

I have been surprised by the number of parents who are upset  that they cannot text their child during the school day with the new law. That speaks volumes of the differences of my generation and the contemporaries. We didn’t want to be tethered to our parents throughout the day. We matured socially by having to speak to our instructors one on one. We had to make our own case when facing disciplinary action. The education system wasn’t designed around our feelings. It was designed around expanding our knowledge base. It was about teaching us critical thinking skills to apply to the challenges we would face in life.

Parents believing they need instant connection with their children at any given time is not healthy. It creates a dependency on both sides when the goal is to establish the ability to function independently.

And what if an emergency occurs? Will a parent come charging into the school to save their child in a crisis? Of course not. Any attempt to do so would only put more people at risk. And the student, if such a situation were to occur, needs to be focused on their immediate surroundings, not seeking counsel on a phone.

Statistics have consistently shown where digital devices have been banned, teacher satisfaction improves, discipline issues decline and academic performance improves.

I was stunned to see educational leaders calling on Gov. Laura Kelly to veto the measure. To her credit, she signed the bill, even though there would have been enough votes to override a veto should she done so.

This is a big step forward for the Kansas Legislature with credit to Senate Majority Leader Ty Masterson and Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins.

But the remaining work of protecting taxpayers from out-of-control local government remains, and whether or not that passes will determine if this is a successful legislative session.

The House has approved its measure, and the Senate has ideas of its own, and the two chambers must come together to produce a final product that provides the taxpayers a process to fend off massive tax hikes at the local level. A 30-day window requiring 10 percent of the voters to sign a petition is not ideal, and the 5 percent proposal seems to be more realistic. Either way, the biggest failure would be to stall on any proposal. Legislators, be remembered for all time by passing property tax reform this session.