Statewide School Smartphone Ban Gets State House Boost

MASSACHUSETTS — A so-called "bell-to-bell" ban on smartphones in Massachusetts public schools is one step closer to becoming law across the state after the State Senate Joint Committee on Education unanimously moved forward a bill that will shut off student phones during the school day.

State Sen. President Karen Spilka and Sen. Jason Lewis said "the cell phone is one of the most distracting devices ever created" in celebrating the bill that would silence the phones from the start of the school day until it is time to go home — with some exceptions and room for district discretion.

• 'Bell-To-Bell' School Smartphone Ban Across MA Pushed In State Senate Bill

"Overwhelming evidence shows us that cell phones are major barriers to student growth and achievement in the classroom," Lewis said. "And they make it harder for our talented educators to teach.

"As legislators, neighbors, and parents, it is incumbent upon us to ensure classrooms are places where young people focus, learn, and thrive."

The bill advanced to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) offered testimony before the Joint Committee on Education last month in support of his bill that would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to issue guidance to schools on implementing the full-day ban on cell phones in schools.

The bill would also provide detailed procedures for the steps of collection, isolation, and return of the banned personal electronic devices.

"We must take decisive action to ban the use of cell phones in school by students, " Crighton said. "Only sustained, daylong separation from smartphones, also known as a 'bell-to-bell' ban, is sufficient to prevent these academic and mental health impacts."

A statewide ban would override restrictions in individual districts — such as the one the Peabody School Committee approved this spring — that place constraints on student cell phone use during certain parts of the school day.

In his written testimony, Crighton highlighted the contrast between typical classroom settings before and after the introduction of the smartphone in 2007. Before smartphones, he said, students would be able to more directly focus on their teachers and the work in front of them.

Current reality provides a stark contrast, he said, where students are "encapsulated by their devices," with their "phones buzzing with calls, texts, and notifications from social media accounts."

He said students are distracted by this constant stream of input, in addition to the mental health challenges that this technology can unleash on them.

New York, Arizona, Oklahoma, and South Carolina are among the states that have enacted phone-free school bans.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)