A Kentucky state lawmaker predicts that new bills are likely to be introduced in the 2025 General Assembly that would regulate cell phone use by students in Kentucky schools, according to
Sen. Steve West, co-chair of the Joint Interim Committee on Education, heard testimony Friday about the effects of social media and cell phones on K-12 students.
“From the testimonies we received yesterday and other information, it is clear that mobile phones in classrooms lead to: Distraction from learning, more discipline problems, more bullying, more depression and mental health problems. Once cellphones are removed, there seems to be a positive change in all these areas,” the Paris Republican told the Herald-Leader on Saturday.
Bourbon County Schools Superintendent Larry Joe Begley, whose district banned cellphones from classrooms in May, told lawmakers on the Education Committee that there may not have been stricter laws on cellphone limits in schools because of pushback from students and parents who want communicate during the day.
But “the opposition is not as numerous as you think,” Begley said.
Bourbon County students place their phones in a bag in each classroom and check them in and out so they can communicate with their parents during class changes.
West, who told the Herald-Leader on Saturday that he expects one or more bills to be introduced, said he doesn’t know what the final outcome will be if legislation is proposed, “but lockers are an option.”
He said many parents support the policy, although those who oppose it may be more vocal publicly.
Bourbon County High School Principal Morgan Adkins told lawmakers that before the new policy, individual teachers decided whether students could use cell phones in classrooms. The uniform policy had improved the school climate, he said.
Adkins said discipline problems had improved and there was more focus on academics. He said school staff had not experienced the opposition from students that he expected.
Students, he said, say they are more engaged in the classrooms. Adkins said there was less cyberbullying happening.
After speaking with lawmakers, Zach Rausch, Associate Research Scientist at New York University’s Stern School of Business, told the Herald-Leader in an email that he had three key messages for Kentucky lawmakers:
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Lawmakers have a crucial opportunity to address the crisis of disrupted learning, inattention, and rising student loneliness and anxiety that has plagued schools since the early 2010s. By supporting districts across the state as they implement phone-free, bell-to-bell policies, they can provide teachers and students with a common-sense solution to promote connection, learning and healthy relationships.
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Social media companies are harming teens on an industrial scale, as evidenced by their own internal documents and research, Rausch said. Major platforms popular with young people – TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat – are fundamentally unsuitable for children, he said.
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Many parents and teens feel trapped. No teenager wants to be the only one without a smartphone and access to social media, and no parent wants their child to feel isolated. As a result, parents continue to give away devices at a younger age and teens are spending more and more time online, even if they don’t want to. Lawmakers have the power to break this cycle and support families in providing the kind of childhood that parents want to give their children and that children deserve, he said.
