Committee hears wide-ranging testimony on bill to limit student cell phone use; pilots show academic and discipline gains

Representative Mark Tisdale presented House Bill 4,141 to the House Education and Workforce Committee, proposing state-level limits on student cell phone use in K-12 schools to reduce classroom distraction and support learning.

Multiple teachers, school leaders and researchers testified in support. Jennifer Wilson, a licensed counselor, described a body of research and her two decades of clinical and classroom experience linking unrestricted smartphone access to reduced attention, disrupted executive function and emotional stress in adolescents. "The constant digital distractions are stealing time from learning, building skills, connecting with others in real life," Wilson said, arguing that state-level policy would give educators a consistent framework and backing for enforcement.

Casey Nocci, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher who said his school operates a "no phone zone," said student surveys showed striking perceptions: 80 percent of middle-school students said smartphones did not have a negative impact on themselves but 80 percent said their…