(The Center Square) – Following several states banning smartphones from schools, a pair of U.S. senators are introducing legislation to study the impacts of cell phone use in K-12 classrooms.
Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va. and Tom Cotton, R-Ark, introduced the Focus on Learning Act, which would require the U.S. Surgeon General to complete a study on the effects of cell phone or smartphone usage on students in K-12 classrooms, specifically looking at the impacts on mental health, educational outcomes and academic performance.
The senators cited Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who signed an executive order instructing “cellphone-free education” in the commonwealth, which went into effect Jan. 1.
The movement appears to be picking up steam across the country, with leaders in blue and red states finding common ground on the issue.
To date, eight states, including California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, have statewide bans or restrictions on cell or smartphone usage in schools. Fifteen states have proposed statewide legislation to ban the devices, and eight are undergoing education department policy recommendations or pilot programs, according to KFF.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is also considering similar policies.
Kaine underscored the need to do more to safeguard students’ mental health and aid in learning.
“We need to do more to ensure students can excel in the classroom, and part of this means digging into how cellphone use in schools is impacting students’ mental health and their ability to learn and form relationships with their peers,” said Kaine.
The legislation would authorize $5 million annually to fund a five-year pilot program.
Like many of the states with existing bans, the senators say the participating schools would be required to “have a communication system in place that allows teachers, administrators, and staff to communicate with local emergency responders.” The bill would also allow exceptions for students with disabilities, health conditions requiring mobile devices or for translation purposes for students learning English.
The legislation would require the program’s findings to be reported, submitted to Congress and made public.
The proposed bans come as multiple studies show learning scores are down and haven’t recovered since the pandemic. In addition, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported the rate of suicide has increased 167% for females since 2010 and 91% for males, according to data collected between 2019-2021.
