Republican lawmakers propose cell phone bans in schools

Yahoo

12-02-2025

Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) speaks about the cell phone ban bill. Screenshot via WisEye.
Republican lawmakers made the case Tuesday for a state law that would require school districts to implement a policy banning cell phones and other devices from classrooms as a way to improve students' focus and performance.
The bill — AB 2 — would require school districts to adopt a policy that 'generally prohibits pupils from using wireless communication devices during instructional time.' The policies would need to include certain exceptions in emergencies, cases involving student's health care, individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan and for educational purposes. Under the bill, the policies would need to be adopted by July 2026.
Wireless communication devices are defined as a 'portable wireless device that is capable of providing voice, messaging or other data communication between two or more parties' and explicitly includes cell phones, tablet computers, laptop computers and gaming devices.
Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) and Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) said the policy would be beneficial to students and though many schools already have some, the statewide policy is needed to put enforcement power behind school districts.
'Phones can be a distraction for all of us, but it's even worse for students,' Kitchens said during a Tuesday hearing in the Assembly Science, Technology, and AI committee. 'The interruptions and the pressures of social media are detrimental to children's mental health as well as to their education.'
According to DPI's 2024-25 State Digital Learning survey approximately 90% of districts already have some sort of restrictive cell phone policy in place. About 320 out of the 421 public districts in Wisconsin participated in the survey.
'The problem is enforcement without a strong unified approach to the problem. Most teachers eventually throw up their hands… By applying the power of state law behind these restrictions, we're giving support to our schools,' Kitchens said. 'This is not something we are doing to the school districts, [it's] something we're doing with them.'
Kitchens said that the law will not 'usurp' local control as each district will be able to determine its own policy. He said an amendment to the bill was drafted to clarify that schools can also ban devices throughout the entire day, including lunch.
'We deliberately drafted the bill to be as open as possible,' Kitchens said.
Kitchens noted that much resistance to the policies comes from concerns parents have about being able to reach their children during the day.
'If they're only banned during class time, they can still reach them between classes. Schools will write their own policy on how they can be reached in case of emergency,' Kitchens said.
According to the Education Commission of the States, several states across the country, including Ohio, California, Florida, have similar statewide policies.
'The results of cell phone bans in schools have been universally positive in the U.S and across the world,' Kitchens said. 'In Orlando, schools report that students are more engaged with less bullying and early reports show a dramatic improvement in test scores.'
Democrats on the committee were skeptical about the need for a state law addressing the issue, given that many school districts already have policies in place restricting cell phone use for students.
Rep. Ben DeSmidt (D-Kenosha) said the bill could create confusion and complication for school districts that already have policies in place.
'If we're just going to muddy the waters with this, and the problem is already being dealt with by school boards… Why don't we trust those local electeds? Why are we challenging their authority?' DeSmidt asked the bill authors.
Kitchens said that the intention isn't to create confusion, but to provide enforcement mechanisms and provide cover to school districts when dealing with parents.
DPI Assistant State Superintendent Josh Robinson and Policy Initiatives Advisor Sara Knueve testified at the hearing and made some recommendations for how to make it more effective.
Robinson said the bill gets to the 'heart of' the idea of engagement. He said technology 'is here to stay' and educators are responsible for ensuring students have the 'digital learning skills necessary to compete and thrive in society.' On the other hand, he said DPI understands that there is a need to 'mitigate the negative impact' devices can have on students' mental health and learning.
Knueve noted that cell phone policies in schools vary greatly.
'In general, middle and high schools tend to have some form of restriction, while elementary schools usually enforce a 'no phones during the day' policy. To manage devices, some schools use strategies like 'phone hotels' or caddies for storage,' Knueve said.
Robinson called the goal of limiting technology disruptions during classroom time 'wise,' but had a few recommendations for how to change the proposed legislation. Instead of starting with an outright ban of all devices, the agency suggested setting a statewide policy goal of restricting non-district-issued electronic devices and leaving the local implementation of the policy up to each district.
One of the specific suggestions was to require each school board to develop and adopt a policy that limits or prohibits pupils' use of electronic communication devices during instructional time and also articulates specific times that the district cannot prohibit use of devices.
DPI also recommends that the bill update or repeal a current state statute, so there is no conflict. Wisconsin Statute 118.258 already states that each school board may, but isn't required to, adopt policies prohibiting students from using electronic communication devices on premises owned, rented or under the control of a public school.
Finally, DPI said the bill should be changed to make a clear distinction between non-district-issued wireless communication devices and district-issued wireless communication devices.
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