States Increasingly Eye Limits on Students' Cellphone Use at School

Multiple states are examining ways of directing their public schools to limit students' mobile phone use. Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, executive director-National School Boards Association (NSBA), told us the growing momentum behind cellphone limits means more and more states will be called upon to address it.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) last week kicked off a listening tour to get feedback from key stakeholders before crafting a school smartphone policy proposal later this year, a spokesperson said. At a news conference last week, Hochul said she's following up on social media kids’ safety bills that she signed last month (see 2406200069). The governor noted a June 12 Pew Research study that said 72% of U.S. high school teachers found cellphone distraction a major problem. “This generation -- more than others -- is being subjected to distractions that never existed,” Hochul said. “It’s time to start figuring out solutions here.”

At least six states have enacted legislation related to limiting or prohibiting student device use in educational contexts over the past two years, Lauren Gendill, National Conference of State Legislatures education policy analyst, said last week in an NCSL report responding to our inquiry. Louisiana banned student phones during the school day. Florida and Indiana laws require that local schools adopt bans. Ohio required district boards to adopt a policy for limiting student cellphone usage and phone-related distractions. South Carolina put a similar requirement in its 2024-25 budget bill as a condition for receiving state funds. Also, Pennsylvania established a grant program for cellphone lockable bags, requiring that schools seeking the funding adopt a cellphone ban during the school day.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued a phone-free schools executive order earlier this month (see 2407090045). On Feb. 8, the Alabama State Board of Education approved a resolution encouraging local education boards to adopt smartphone limits. In addition, on Jan. 10, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) sent letters to educational leaders encouraging policies that remove cellphones during classes.

Other states have considered similar policies, NCSL’s Gendill found. A California bill (A-3216) is pending in the Senate after passing the Assembly in May. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last month supported efforts to restrict smartphones in schools. Meanwhile, similar bills failed this year in states including Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Vermont and Washington state. CTIA, representing the wireless industry, declined to comment Friday.

The flurry of state activity occurs as most U.S. public schools -- 76% -- have individual policies governing nonacademic use of handsets during school hours, according to the U.S. Education Department. That ranges from 87% of elementary schools to 43% of high schools and secondary schools, it said. The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted last month to institute a smartphone ban during the school day. Implementation of the policy is set for January.

However, school and district policies are often toothless or spottily enforced, Sabine Polak, co-founder of the nonprofit Phone-Free Schools Movement advocacy group, argued. Policies often limit use during class time only, which is ineffective, Polak said. "Bell to bell is the only way to go about this."

Opposition to such policies most typically comes from parents and students, NSBA's McCotter-Jacobs said. Those parents often "for their own sense of comfort" want their children to have a phone and be easily reachable.

McCotter-Jacobs said a problem with states setting universal policies is that they reduce schools' and teachers' flexibility. In addition, an accommodation is needed for using handsets in learning environments when teachers want to incorporate them, she said. Florida's HB 379, signed into law in 2023, includes flexibility for teachers who want students using handsets during classes for educational purposes. The downside of using smartphones as part of a lesson plan is teachers must police smartphones when they are later supposed to be put away, McCotter-Jacobs said.

School boards also want to avoid state requirements that schools invest in lockers or lockable pouches for students' phones -- something many schools have done -- if the state isn't helping fund those purchases, McCotter-Jacobs said.