LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t have much in common ideologically, but the two have both been vocal supporters of an idea that has quickly gained bipartisan ground in the states: banning student cell phones during the school day.
At least eight states have passed such bans over the past two years, and proposals are being considered in more states this year.
Here’s a look at the states’ push for such bans.
The push to ban cellphones has been fueled by concerns about the impact screen time is having on children’s mental health and complaints from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom.
General surgeon Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their impact on young people’s lives, has said schools must provide phone-free time.
Nationally, 77% of US schools say they ban cell phones in school for non-academic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But that number is misleading. This does not mean that students follow these prohibitions or that all these schools enforce them.
Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone Free Schools Movement, said the issue is catching on because parents and teachers in both red and blue states are grappling with the consequences of children on mobile devices.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in a big city or a rural town, city or suburb, all kids struggle and need that seven-hour break from the pressures of phones and social media during the school day,” she said.
At least eight states — California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia — have passed measures banning or restricting student use of cell phones in schools.
The policies range widely. Florida was the first state to crack down on phones in school, passing a 2023 law requiring all public schools to ban cell phone use during school hours and block access to social media on district Wi-Fi.
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 enact such restrictions or provided funds to store phones during the day.
Sanders announced a pilot program last year that provided grants to schools that adopt phone-free policies, and more than 100 schools signed up. In his State of the State address this week, Sanders proposed an outright ban.
“We will ban cell phones in our schools, from bell to bell, so that our children are not distracted, in class or outside of it,” Sanders said.
Other governors who recently called for a ban include Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who was sworn in this month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has suggested she will seek a statewide policy, but has not provided details.
The cellphone ban has met with opposition from some parents who say they should be able to contact their children directly in an emergency.
Some parents have pointed to recent school shootings where having access to cell phones was the only way some students were able to communicate with loved ones for what they believed might be the last time.
But supporters of the bans have noted that students’ phones could pose additional dangers during an emergency by distracting students or by revealing their location during an active shooter situation.
Parents who oppose the ban have also said they want their children to have access to their phones for other needs, such as coordinating transportation.
Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, said she agrees with the dangers of social media to children, but that the bans that states want are too broad. Banning devices during the school day won’t address underlying issues like bullying or the dangers of social media, she said.
“We haven’t done our job as adults to try to teach our kids the skills they need to actually navigate this technology,” she said. “We just kicked the can down the road and threw them in the deep end of the pool when they’re alone after school.”
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Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut, Margery Beck, Holly Ramer and Anthony Izaguire contributed to this report.
