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A private school here in Houston has made headlines for its zero-tolerance policy when it comes to phones on school property or even at school events. After the policy was sidestepped by students, they announced they'll begin destroying any phones they find.
The school, Western Academy, an all-boys school that serves students in grades 3-8, and Headmaster Jason Hebert announced that some of those boys had been exposed to "seriously harmful imagery" at the school. This has become a common concern for parents in the Internet age.
In order to put a stop to the spread of that harmful imagery at the school, Hebert announced that the school had acquired a metal grinder, and it will be used to destroy any cellphones that students are caught with at school.
While some might think that's a bit harsh, Mandy Drogin with the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Next Generation Texas sees the merit. She said, "Decisions have consequences, for children and for adults. If mom and dad don't want the phone going through the grinder, don't send it to school. Seems simple enough to me."
Drogin also predicted even more schools taking strong action similar to that of Western Academy in order to shut down harmful online content on their campuses. She said, "I do think that we will see more schools that are going to have more parents that will say, 'I don't want my kids consuming this.'"
She went on to praise both Western Academy for taking such a strong stand on the issue and Western Academy parents who are choosing to send their children there because of their strong stance on this issue.