Bergen: Dinosaur Caucus Strikes Again скачать в хорошем качестве

Bergen: Dinosaur Caucus Strikes Again

Assemblyman Brian Bergen blasted Trenton lawmakers for trying to legislate classroom technology, arguing that decisions about cell phones and internet-enabled devices belong with local school boards, principals, teachers, and parents — not the State House. Bergen warned that despite claims the bill was “watered down,” it still amounts to a de facto bell-to-bell cell phone ban, mandated by state law rather than shaped by local communities. He pushed back on what he called a “dinosaur caucus” approach, noting that the average age of legislative leadership is far removed from the realities of today’s classrooms and rapidly changing technology. Drawing on history, Bergen reminded colleagues that the Legislature has repeatedly gotten this wrong — from criminalizing pagers in schools in 1989, to panics over calculators, laptops, pinball machines, and even handwriting versus typing. Every time, he argued, Trenton overreacted, passed laws that proved irrelevant or unenforceable, and eventually had to walk them back.