LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom have little in common ideologically, but both have been staunch supporters of an idea that quickly gaining ground in both parties. : Student cell phones must be prohibited during the school day.
At least eight states have adopted such bans in the past two years, and proposals are being considered in several more states this year.
Here’s a look at state pressure for such bans.
Why do states ban cell phones in schools?
The push for cell phone bans has been driven by concerns about the impact of screen time on children’s mental health and complaints from teachers that cell phones have become a constant distraction in class.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their effects on young people’s lives, said schools need to provide phone-free periods.
Nationally, 77% of U.S. schools report banning cell phones at school for non-academic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But this figure is misleading. This does not mean that students respect these bans or that all schools enforce them.
Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone Free Schools Movement, said the problem is growing because parents and teachers in red and blue states are grappling with the consequences of children using mobile devices.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in a big city or a rural, urban or suburban town, all kids are struggling and need that seven hour break from the pressure of phones and social media during the school day” , she said.
Which states enact bans?
At least eight states – California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia – have adopted measures banning or restricting student cellphone use in schools.
The policies are very varied. Florida was the first state to crack down on cell phones in schools, passing a 2023 law that requires all public schools to ban cell phone use during school hours and block access to social networks on the district Wi-Fi network.
A 2024 California law requires the state’s nearly 1,000 school districts to create their own cellphone policies by July 2026.
Several other states have not banned phones but have encouraged school districts to adopt such restrictions or provided funds to store phones during the day.
Sanders announced a pilot program last year offering grants to schools that adopt no-phone policies, and more than 100 school districts have signed on. Sanders said she now wants to require all districts to ban cellphones during the school day, but the proposal would leave it up to districts to craft policy.
“Teachers know that (cell phones are) a huge distraction, but what’s even more serious is that they impact the mental health of many of our students,” Sanders said to journalists on Thursday.
Other governors who have recently called for bans include Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who was sworn in this month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. New York Governor Kathy Hochul suggested she would seek to develop a statewide policy but did not elaborate.
What is the opposition to the bans?
Mobile phone bans have been opposed by some parents who say they need to be able to contact their children directly in an emergency.
Some parents emphasized recent school shootings where access to cell phones was the only way for some students to communicate with loved ones for what they thought would be the last time.
But supporters of the bans noted that student phones could pose additional dangers in an emergency by distracting students or revealing their location during an active shooter situation.
Parents opposed to the ban also said they wanted their children to have access to their phones for other needs, like coordinating transportation.
Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, said she agrees about the dangers of social media for children, but that the bans requested by states take too broad an approach. Banning devices during the school day won’t solve underlying problems like bullying or the dangers of social media, she said.
“We haven’t done our job as adults to try to teach our children the skills they need to actually navigate this technology,” she said. “We just threw the can in the road and threw them at the bottom of the pool when they were alone after school.”
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Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut, Margery Beck, Holly Ramer and Anthony Izaguire contributed to this report.
