Senators are moving closer toward a vote on legislation that would prohibit public K-12 students from using cellphones during the school day.
The Senate side of the Education Committee on Tuesday began advancing a redrafted bill taking aim at a trend some lawmakers have likened to “electronic cocaine” or “a youth behavioral health crisis on steroids.”
The bill on the move would require all K-12 districts to craft their own policies banning student access to personal electronic devices, including cellphones, from the first bell of the school day to the last. The bill requires districts to offer a long list of exceptions — for multilingual learners, emergencies, students with disabilities, time off-campus for students, and instances when a staff member gives permission otherwise, according to a committee summary of the bill.
Districts would also need to ensure parents and students have means to contact one another during the school day, and they would be responsible for developing their own disciplinary policies for students who use cellphones despite the ban.
Education Committee Co-chair Sen. Jason Lewis said he expects the full Senate to take up the bill by the end of the month.
“We just have reached the point where we have really compelling evidence that use of cellphones by young people causes a number of harms for them in terms of their ability to learn, their ability to collaborate and communicate with their peers on their mental health,” Lewis said in an interview. “We think that’s particularly true when the devices are used while students are actually in school.”
The committee redraft is based on a bill filed by Sen. Julian Cyr of Provincetown (S 335).