Policy

Push to restrict cellphones in schools ramps up

The effort is playing out in both red and blue states.
A student uses her cellphone as she steps outside a high school in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have introduced or pre-filed legislation that would ban or limit cellphones in schools, continuing a recent push by officials to get electronic distractions out of the classroom.

Since Florida enacted the nation’s first school cellphone ban in 2023, seven more states have restricted cellphone use through legislation or executive order, according to Ballotpedia. State boards of education in three other states have encouraged local districts to do the same.

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