SALT LAKE CITY — A new bill in the Utah State Legislature could take away students' phones during class time.
Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R-South Jordan), who sponsored SB178S1, says the bill is designed to minimize distractions in the classroom.
The bill bans cell phones, smartwatches, and other emerging technology during classroom hours, which are defined as any time that teachers instruct students during regular school operating hours. Time between classes, lunch periods, recess, and after-school activities are not included in classroom hours.
"If we had known 20 years ago what the results of having cell phones so ubiquitous would be, we never would have allowed it," Fillmore said.
Also included in the bill is a carve-out where local education agencies will have to establish policies that allow students to use cell phones during school emergencies, to use the SafeUT Crisis Line, for students with individualized education plans, or for those with medical necessity.
Under the bill, local education agencies would be allowed to establish policies that further restrict student cell phone use. This could include during lunch periods and transition times between classes.
The ban on cell phone use in schools is something that many leaders have been calling for. In 2024, Governor Spencer Cox sent letters to district and charter school leaders sharing his concerns about the use of cell phones during class. The Governor stated in part, "Cell phone-free learning environments will help our teachers teach and our students learn. We want to give our schools every opportunity to succeed and so I hope our local school districts and charter schools will join me in this effort to keep phones in backpacks or lockers during class time.”
Educators have also joined the call for cell phone bans. According to the National Education Association, 90% of NEA members support school policies prohibiting cell phones and personal devices during instructional time. 83% of their members support bans on cell phones and personal devices during the entire school day.
The push for cell phone-free schools is also growing nationwide. Washington, Oregon, Kansas, Alabama, and Connecticut all have state policies that encourage districts to limit cell phone use in class. California and Ohio have law limits on cell phone use. Louisiana, Indiana, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida all have laws or executive orders prohibiting the use of cell phones in school.
New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy has stated that he wants to ban device use in all K-12 classrooms statewide and New York's Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed a $13.5 million plan to help districts in that state implement a ban.
The push to silence phones in class hasn't been without push-back, however. According to a poll by the National Parents Union, 78% of parents want their children to have cell phone access during the school day in case there is an emergency.
State Senator Fillmore's bill is currently in the Senate Rules Committee for hearings and if put into law would take effect July 1, 2025.
