Jeff Amy
ATLANTA (AP) — Florida was the first state in 2023 to pass laws regulating cell phone use in schools. Just two years later, more than half of all states have introduced the law and are more likely to act immediately.
This year, bills are sprinting through Congress in a variety of states, like New York and Oklahoma, reflecting the broad consensus that calls are bad for children.
On May 13, Connecticut Assemblyman Jennifer Reaper, Democrat and co-chair of the General Assembly Board of Education, was called “not only has a major impact on both isolation, loneliness, reduced attention and social emotional well-being, but also has a major impact on both learning.”
Republicans have expressed similar sentiments.
“This is not just an academic bill,” Republican Rep. Scott Hilton said after the Georgia bill (after only K-8 grade phones were passed in March). “This is a mental health bill. It’s a public safety bill.”
To date, 26 states have passed laws, with eight other states and the District of Columbia implementing rules and making recommendations to local districts. Of the state, 17 people acted this year. Just Tuesday, Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen signed a law banning calls throughout school day. Earlier on Tuesday, Alaska lawmakers demanded that schools be regulated mobile phones when they overturned an education package that was rejected for unrelated reasons.
Bills await you as you are waiting for a governor’s signature or veto in Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and New Hampshire.
Focusing on banning calls throughout school day
When Florida first acted, lawmakers ordered the schools to ban calls during educational hours, allowing between classes or during lunchtime. But now there is another bill awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ action. Calls are prohibited throughout elementary and junior high school days.
Ten states and the District of Columbia have enacted a school day ban for students in their grades, and now outweigh seven states with no education hours.
North Dakota Republican Governor Kelly Armstrong called the ban throughout school day, and he signed a “big victory.”
“The teachers wanted it. The parents wanted it. The principal wanted it. The school board wanted it,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong recently visited elementary schools with such a ban in place. He said he saw the kids engaged to each other and laughing at the table at lunchtime.
The “Bell to Bell” ban is partly promoted by Excelline, an education think tank founded by former Florida governor Jeb Bush. The group’s political affiliates are actively lobbying for the ban.
Nathan Hoffman, senior director of state policy and advocacy at Excelined, said he excludes non-class issues throughout the day, like when students set up or record fights in the hall.
“It’s often when you get some of your biggest behavioral issues, whether they become a virus or not,” Hoffman said.
Other states hope to set their own rules for school districts
However, other states, particularly those with a strong tradition of local school control, require that school districts only adopt some kind of mobile phone policy. In Maine, where some lawmakers first proposed a school day ban, lawmakers are now considering a rewritten bill that requires only policy.
And there were some states where lawmakers could not act at all. Perhaps the most dramatic one is Wyoming, where the senator voted for the bill in January, with some opponents saying that teachers and parents should set rules.
If policymakers move forward, there is a growing consensus on exceptions. Most states have students use electronic devices to monitor their medical needs and meet the requirements of special education plans. If English is not the student’s primary language, or if teachers want students to use the device for class work, we allow exceptions to the translation device.
There are also some unusual exceptions. The original South Carolina policy allowed exceptions to students who are volunteer firefighters. New West Virginia law allows smartwatches unless they are used for communications.
Some parents and students are against the rules
However, the most famous exception is allowing mobile phones to be used in emergencies. One of the most common parental objections to the ban is that they are unable to contact their children in crises like school shootings.
“It was only through text messages that parents knew what was going on,” said the daughter, a freshman at Appalachie High School, northeast of Atlanta, and the shooting killed two students and two teachers in September. She opposed Georgia’s law at a press conference in March.
While some laws require schools to have other ways of communicating with their children in schools, most lawmakers say they support students in making cell phones accessible, at least in emergencies, after the danger has passed quickly.
In some states, students testify in favour of regulations, but it is also clear that many students, especially in high school, are rubbing under the rules. Kaytlin Villescas, a sophomore at Prairieville High School, a suburb of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is one student who began fighting the Vans in August, began petitioning and told WBRZ-TV that Louisiana law misguided them to demand a ban on schools. She argued that schools should teach responsible use instead.
“As opposed to ban mobile phones entirely, it means that schools need to communicate guidelines for responsible use and thereby build a culture of respect and self-regulation,” Villescas wrote in an online petition.
Most states don’t provide funds to implement the law
Some states offer money for districts to buy lockable phone storage pouches or other storage solutions. New York, for example, is expected to spend $13.5 million. However, the states do not normally provide cash. New Hampshire lawmakers stripped them of the proposed $1 million from their bill.
“Providing certain money for this would facilitate some of these implementation challenges,” Hoffman said. “That said, not in most states.”
Becky Bowler, Associated Press Writer in Juneau, Alaska. Susan Hay of Hartford, Connecticut. Jacques Dura of Bismarck, North Dakota. Kate Payne of Tallahassee, Florida. I contributed to this report.
Original issue: May 21, 2025, 3:49pm EDT
