OUTLAWING THE OBSOLETE

In the name of fighting drugs, school violence, teasing and whatnot, school
authorities across the country have adopted policies that even
second-graders recognize as inane.

Every few weeks, it seems, some child gets tossed out of school for the
crime of drug possession (aspirin, Midol); for possessing weapons (2-inch GI
Joe plastic knives); or for sexual assault (kissing a fellow first-graders
on the cheek).

In 1993, the Nevada Assembly banned possession by students of communication
devices such as cellular telephones, pagers and beepers. Now, a proposed
enhancement to that law, Assembly Bill 307, would allow school officials to
slap fines of up to $200 on repeat violators and allow schools to confiscate
the devices.

It's overkill. Yes, some students use beepers, pagers and cell phones to
transact illicit drug business on campus - just as students have been doing
without such devices for decades. Indeed, the 1993 law has had zero effect
on campus drug traffic.

There is a good reason, of course, to prohibit noise-emitting beepers,
pagers and cell phones on campus, and that is to minimize disruption in the
classroom. Plain old discipline, which teachers can and must enforce, should
see to it that noisy things and noisome kids be banished from the classroom.

But cell phones, pagers and beepers are now equipped with non- disruptive
vibrating mechanisms that can be felt (not heard) only by the possessor. In
this age of the latchkey kid, many a schoolchild has legitimate reasons for
carrying such devices - calling Mom in an emergency, communicating with
parents on matters of family importance and so on.

Certainly there's no need for a punitive new law.