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Sponsor, advocates urge 'bell-to-bell' ban on personal devices in classrooms at first hearing

3031242 · April 8, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Senate Bill 158 drew sponsor testimony and proponent witnesses advocating a statewide ban on personal electronic devices during the instructional day, while committee members asked about local control and carve-outs for instruction and safety.

Senate Bill 158, introduced by Senator Timken, received its first hearing in the Senate Education Committee with sponsor testimony and proponent witnesses urging a statewide “bell-to-bell” prohibition on personal electronic devices during the instructional day.

Senator Timken told the committee that modern smartphones and social media have increased distractions in classrooms and said the bill is a “common sense approach to unplug our children” so they can focus on instruction and social interaction. "It will reduce the distractions from instruction and facilitate the building of in person relationships," Timken said…

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