Yearbook report recognizes states’ phone-free school laws
Jacob Wackerhausen via Getty Images
By
Chris Teale
Eleven states were honored for passing new laws or strengthening existing ones governing phone use in schools, although some were dinged for confusing implementation.
Eleven states passed or strengthened their laws this year governing students’ phone use in school, according to a report card released earlier this month, but policies remain varied across those states.
A coalition of nonprofits and other organizations, including The Anxious Generation, Smartphone Free Childhood, the Institute for Families and Technology and the Becca Schmill Foundation, recognized states for their efforts to pass what they deemed “strong” policies, and spotlighted states they felt “fell short.”
The groups highlighted Indiana and Kansas as having passed some of the strongest bell-to-bell laws in the country, which require cell phones to be stored away for the entire school day, from the opening morning bell until the final dismissal bell. However, while both states received the highest “A” grade in the yearbook, they both came under fire for what organizers felt was confusing and inconsistent implementation.
Elsewhere, several states earned “B” grades for passing or strengthening policies that the report says, “increase the benefits of distraction-free learning for students.” Maine, Utah and Maryland received praise for dramatically strengthening their laws, while Georgia, Oklahoma and Virginia also made the report’s “Honor Roll” for strengthening their own language.
Michigan’s new law earned a “C” grade in the report for banning cell phone use during class time, but the report says the state can go further. Having laws that only ban phone use during instructional time “place enforcement burden on teachers and rob students of critical relationship-building opportunities that happen in hallways and lunchrooms,” the report continues.
Two states — Delaware and Wyoming — came under fire for not enacting a statewide cell phone standard and leaving policies up to individual school districts. Washington and South Dakota failed to pass statewide laws, while Connecticut and Mississippi failed to advance legislation for the second consecutive session, to the chagrin of the report’s authors. Montana still has not even seen the introduction of a phone-free schools bill, but its legislators were not in session this year.
“Every student in America deserves distraction free learning,” Deb Schmill, founder of the Becca Schmill Foundation, said in a statement. “The yearbook commends those states that passed strong phone-free schools policies this legislative session."
Policies on restricting students’ use of cell phones in schools have been occupying state legislators and educators for several years, as they reckon with the impacts of smartphones and social media on minors’ educations and interpersonal relationships. Many advocates have prioritized the bell-to-bell policies, even as others argue it could undermine safety, especially in a shooting or other emergency.
It’s an effort that has garnered national attention, although leaders in Congress appear, based on previous public statements, to be more inclined to let states and localities determine policy in this area. Earlier this year, the same groups behind this yearbook found plenty of “room for improvement” in states’ cell phone policies.
The biggest improvement in the yearbook was determined to be in Maryland, which passed a law in May. That law, known as the Maryland Phone Free Schools Act, requires every local board of education to adopt policies restricting students’ cell phone, laptop and device use during school hours, as well as social media.
But there is plenty more work ahead as advocates believe their preferred bell-to-bell policy will take hold in more state capitals between now and 2027.
“With debates in several states ongoing, we anticipate over 25 states will have bell-to-bell policies by the end of this year,” Emily Rapp, policy director for the Institute for Families and Technology, said in a statement.