LAUSD Board Weighs Full Day Cell Phone Ban. How Would It Work?
Los Angeles Unified School District campuses could become cellphone- and social media-free places. The Los Angeles Unified Board will decide today on directing staff to collect feedback and create a policy that would ban student phones and social media use from bell to bell. The district’s current policy technically bars phone and social media use in class, but educators say even that is unevenly enforced. A yes vote on the resolution would direct district staff to revise the existing cellphone and social media policies and present a plan to the board that could be rolled out by the time students return from winter break in January 2025. A no vote would maintain the district’s existing policy which prohibits cell phone and social media use during class time. On one hand, this technology offers new avenues for friendship and connection, but increased use is also tied to poorer sleep, youth gun violence, and depression and anxiety.
Today on AirTalk, we talk to LAist education reporter, Mariana Dale, about the proposal, and Diego Ochoa, superintendent of San Mateo-Foster City School District in the Bay Area, to talk about how his district has been successful in banning cellphones during school hours. We also want to hear from you! If you are a parent or teacher, let us know what you think about a cellphone ban at school. How do you think a ban should be implemented? What are some benefits for having cellphones in class and on campus? Call us at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.
You can read Mariana's full story here.
With files from LAist
Cars Are Getting Older. Apparently, That’s Just How We Want Them.
According to a recent study by S&P Global Mobility, the average age of cars in the U.S. is 12.6 years old. That’s more than 14 months older than the average age of cars in 2014. What does this say about us? Perhaps that we hate touch screens and prefer CD players? That may very well be true. It seems that Americans are holding on to their cars for longer for a number of reasons. Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss why no one wants new cars and why is Wall Street Journal auto columnist Dan Neil.
New Imperfect Paradise Series Gets Into The Emotional Strain Of The US Mexico Border
In the newest season of the LAist Studios series Imperfect Paradise, freelance journalist Lorena Ríos guides us through a story of how the U.S.-Mexico border creates identity crises for so many people. The series focuses on Daniel Zamora, whose bright future as a teen in Veracruz eventually leads him to the United States with his parents, only to get deported inevitably for being undocumented. Having gotten a taste of the American dream, earning a scholarship, and attending a private college in Iowa, his expectations are completely flipped as he spends his adult life going through the deportation process. With the legal challenges being one thing, the podcast also gets into the mental toll Daniel faced as his hope to stick in the United States left him living two lives that just couldn’t come together. Today on AirTalk, we talk to Lorena and Daniel about this latest season, and what they hope listeners take from the 4-part series.
Biden Administration To Announce Deportation Protection For Spouses Of Immigrants
President Joe Biden is taking an expansive election year step to offer relief to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status in the U.S., aiming to balance his own aggressive crackdown on the southern border earlier this month that enraged advocates and many Democratic lawmakers. The White House announced Tuesday that the Biden administration will, in the coming months, allow certain spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship. The move could affect upwards of half a million immigrants, according to senior administration officials. To qualify, an immigrant must have lived in the United States for 10 years as of Monday and be married to a U.S. citizen. If a qualifying immigrant’s application is approved, he or she would have three years to apply for a green card and receive a temporary work permit and be shielded from deportation in the meantime. About 50,000 noncitizen children with a parent who is married to a U.S. citizen could also potentially qualify for the same process, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the proposal on the condition of anonymity.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Los Angeles), who is also a member of the House Hispanic Caucus and the ranking member on the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, which is part of the House Homeland Security Committee about these new protections.
With files from the Associated Press
Actor Griffin Dunne Talks About His New Memoir ‘Friday Afternoon Club’
Griffin Dunne grew up in the lap of luxury as the child of Hollywood producer turned investigative journalist Dominick Dunne. In his new memoir, Friday Afternoon Club, the younger Dunne recounts stories about growing up alongside the rich and famous while also navigating the troubled waters of a family burdened by trauma, mental illness and the murder of Dunne’s sister. Joining us today on AirTalk to talk about his new memoir is actor and author Griffin Dunne.
