House panel endorses tougher school cellphone ban
An amended bill to institute a 'bell-to-bell' ban of cellphones in New Hampshire public schools narrowly cleared a key House committee Tuesday.
Rep. Melissa Litchfield, R-Brentwood, brought forward the proposal to require that all school districts adopt policies to block cellphone use during the entire school day.
Litchfield said a National Education Survey in 2024 found 83% of educators said they want cellphones to be inaccessible in public schools.
'Teachers are not asking us to become the police; they want us to pass this law,' Litchfield told colleagues on the House Education Policy and Administration Committee.
'After extremely compelling testimony from educators, parents, and students on how important it is to protect our children from cellphone use in schools, we are taking action to make sure that our schools remain places of education. We send children to school to learn, not browse Instagram and TikTok.'
Rep. Loren Selig, D-Durham, said school boards should decide their own policies to fit their local needs.
'I think it is overly prescriptive and violates local control. Each district should be able to determine what their own needs are,' Selig said.
The House panel approved Litchfield's amendment, 9-8, with Chairman Glenn Cordelli, R-Tuftonboro, breaking the tie.
Litchfield's change would replace a more generic Senate-passed bill (SB 206) that simply requires school boards to 'develop a policy' for the use of these devices.
Sen. Denise Ricciardi, R-Bedford, authored the Senate bill.
Milder mandate already OK'd
The House and Senate have already given final approval to a more permissive bill (HB 781) on school cellphone use.
That bill, which has the support of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, would require boards to adopt policies to 'restrict the use' of cellphones.
Ayotte had endorsed restrictions on cellphones as a candidate for governor and called for legislation during her inaugural address in January.
Litchfield's latest amendment would allow for exceptions from the ban to include students with language barriers and those with 'special needs' or disabilities if cellphone use was specified in their individualized education programs.
All Democrats on the panel opposed the amendment after the committee rejected an exception for 'teacher-directed' instruction by the same 9-8 vote.
'We need to have a reasonable solution in place for instructional time,' said Rep. Megan Murray, D-Amherst.
Rep. Katy Peternel, R-Wolfeboro, countered that adding the teacher-directed exception could give an advantage to children from wealthier families.
'Are we creating a wedge between the haves and the have-nots by having a teacher-directed exception, since I would assume some students don't have cellphones,' Peternel asked.
Several Democratic committee members objected to a reference in Litchfield's amendment to 'personal communication device.'
They argued this could prevent students from bringing their own laptop computers to school because they work faster than a Chrome Book the school district might supply.
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What's Next: The full House of Representatives will vote on the amended bill later this month.
Prospects: This significant change at such a late stage of the legislative session raises the question as to whether the Senate would agree to it.
klandrigan@unionleader.com
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