Half of U.S. states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more to follow

By The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023.

Just two years later, half of all states have laws in place, with more likely to act soon.

Bills have sprinted through legislatures this year in states as varied as New York and Oklahoma, reflecting a broad consensus that phones are bad for kids.

Connecticut state Rep. Jennifer Leeper, a Democrat and co-chair of the General Assembly’s Education Committee, on May 13 called phones “a cancer on our kids” that are “driving isolation, loneliness, decreasing attention and having major impacts both on social-emotional well-being but also learning.”

Republicans express similar sentiments.

“This is a not just an academic bill,” Republican Rep. Scott Hilton said after Georgia’s bill, which only bans phones in grades K-8, passed in March. “This is a mental health bill. It’s a public safety bill.”

So far, 25 states have passed laws, with eight other states and the District of Columbia implementing rules or making recommendations to local districts. Of the states, 16 have acted this year. Just Tuesday, Alaska lawmakers required schools to regulate cellphones when they overrode an education package that Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy had vetoed for unrelated reasons.

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