Georgia has become the latest state to move toward banning cellphones in schools after a recent Senate vote to restrict their usage.
Currently, nine states have enacted measures to limit cellphone use in schools, and that number is expected to rise as bills in New Mexico, Tennessee, and Utah await decisions by their governors.
The national trend for such bans has been driven by concerns over the impact of excessive screen time on children’s mental health and the distractions cellphones can cause in classrooms.
“Teachers know [cellphones are] a huge distraction, but much bigger than that is that it is impacting the mental health of so many of our students,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a news conference in January, discussing her state’s own restrictions.
Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia have enacted measures banning or restricting students’ use of cellphones in schools.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 75 percent of U.S. schools claim to prohibit cellphones for nonacademic purposes. However, enforcement varies widely, with the specifics differing from state to state.
In Georgia, enforcement will be left to local school districts, which may employ methods such as locking pouches or requiring students to leave their phones in lockers, according to the bill’s text. Students with medical conditions or disabilities will still be allowed to use their devices.
State Sen. Rashaun Kemp, an Atlanta Democrat, said during the recent debate that access to cellphones could be useful during emergency situations.
“What if that phone could save lives in an active-shooter situation? These are true concerns as a parent that all of us will typically think about. What if that phone is the last opportunity for my child to communicate with me?” Kemp said, before ultimately voting in support of the measure.
In response, Republican state Sen. Randy Robertson said parents should trust the school’s emergency exit plan in such a situation, arguing that a child’s phone ringing during an active shooter situation could reveal their location to the shooter.
“Sit down, be responsible, and trust the school to follow their emergency action plan. Their calls will go unanswered because their children’s phones will be locked away,” he said.
Some lawmakers believe the ban should extend to high school students as well.
State Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta, a Democrat, said, “Let’s ensure that every student from kindergarten to 12th grade has the opportunity to learn free from unnecessary distractions.”
Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton, the bill’s sponsor, suggested during the debate that expanding the ban to high schools could be a future step.
