Sanders urges statewide bell-to-bell cell-phone ban, tougher social-media rules and civil remedies for parents

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the state will move to ban cell phones in schools “from bell to bell” and to strengthen enforcement of the Social Media Safety Act after testimony from families affected by online harms.

“Three quarters of our school districts voluntarily participated” in a phone-free school pilot the governor cited, and she said one district reported a 57% drop in verbal and physical aggression and a 51% drop in drug-related offenses after the pilot. Sanders said the administration will propose a statewide ban so “our kids are not distracted in the classroom or out of it.”

Sanders introduced the family of Mason, and invited Ginny Desario — identified in the address as a family member who lost a child — to the lectern. The governor said Mason’s family found videos on social media that included “step by step instructions on how to take his own life,” and that the family believes those videos contributed to their son’s death. The governor said she will pursue measures that would give “moms like Jenny the right to sue big tech companies under state law so that they can hold bad actors accountable.” (Transcript names the grieving parent as Ginny Desario; the governor also used the name Jenny in related remarks.)

Sanders said she will update the Social Media Safety Act so it is not “held up at court and begin to get enforced” and said she will equip districts and parents with tools to prevent unrestricted access to phones and social media inside schools.

These measures were proposed by the governor in her joint-session remarks; the transcript records them as administration priorities and does not record final legislative action.

Provenance: phone-ban and social-media safety remarks are recorded in the governor’s address.