Half of US states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more to follow

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ATLANTA (AP) — Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023.

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Just two years later, half of all states have laws in place, with more likely to act soon.

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Bills have sprinted through legislatures this year in states as varied as New York and Oklahoma, reflecting a broad consensus that phones are bad for kids.

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Connecticut state Rep. Jennifer Leeper, a Democrat and co-chair of the General Assembly’s Education Committee, on May 13 called phones “a cancer on our kids” that are “driving isolation, loneliness, decreasing attention and having major impacts both on social-emotional well-being but also learning.”

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Republicans express similar sentiments.

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“This is a not just an academic bill,” Republican Rep. Scott Hilton said after Georgia’s bill, which only bans phones in grades K-8, passed in March. “This is a mental health bill. It’s a public safety bill.”

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So far, 25 states have passed laws, with eight other states and the District of Columbia implementing rules or making recommendations to local districts. Of the states, 16 have acted this year. Just Tuesday, Alaska lawmakers required schools to regulate cellphones when they overrode an education package that Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy had vetoed for unrelated reasons.

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More action is coming as bills await a governor’s signature or veto in Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and New Hampshire.

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Increasing focus on banning phones throughout the school day

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When Florida first acted, lawmakers ordered schools to ban phones during instructional time while allowing them between classes or at lunch. But now there’s another bill awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ action that goes further. It would ban phones for the entire school day for elementary and middle schools.

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Nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted school day bans, most for students in grades K-12, and they now outnumber the seven states with instructional time bans.

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North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong called the ban throughout the school day that he signed into law “a huge win.”

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“Teachers wanted it. Parents wanted it. Principals wanted it. School boards wanted it,” Armstrong said.

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Armstrong recently visited a grade school with such a ban in place. He said he saw kids engaging with each other and laughing at tables during lunch.

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The “bell-to-bell” bans have been promoted in part by ExcelinEd, the education think tank founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The group’s political affiliate has been active in lobbying for bans.

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Nathan Hoffman, ExcelinEd’s senior director of state policy and advocacy, said barring phones throughout the day heads off problems outside of class, like when students set up or record fights in halls.

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“That’s often when you get some of your biggest behavioral issues, whether they go viral or not,” Hoffman said.

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Other states want school districts to set their own rules