Senate committee gives favorable report to bill requiring local wireless-communication policies, school training and audit survey

A Senate committee voted 9-0 to give a favorable report to legislation that would require each local board of education to adopt a wireless-communication policy, order student instruction on social-media risks before eighth grade, and direct the State Department of Education to survey compliance.

The measure, which the committee set to take effect for the 2025–26 school year, asks local boards to adopt their policies by July 1 and directs the State Department of Education to develop a baseline survey by Oct. 1, 2025. The bill also requires an annual survey to be submitted to local superintendents, principals and the state board of education each year by June 1; beginning in 2026 the bill calls for a deduction of 30% of a school’s common purchase funds for failure to meet the policy’s minimum standards.

Why it matters: The bill would shift substantive policy-making to local boards while imposing a statewide compliance and reporting regime tied to funding. Supporters said local systems already have policies in place in many districts; opponents raised equity and funding concerns for low-income districts and classroom teachers.

Principal Mrs. Wright of Pike Road, who described Pike Road’s local implementation as a pilot for the bill’s approach, told the committee the district adopted a pouch-based system, trained staff and students and sent detailed parent communications before rollout. "We sent out a very detailed parent letter that told them the policy," Principal Wright said, describing parent Q&A, student training and a phased start with older grades first. She said pouches are issued to students, kept in students’ possession and treated like a school-issued Chromebook: students are responsible for care and replacement.

Wright said her district installed mechanical "magnets" in a few locations that are attached five minutes before dismissal so students cannot access a device during the day, and that the district provides loaner pouches when a student forgets theirs. She also said Pike Road used a grant to buy the pouches and that the school has not experienced break-ins of the pouches since the system was implemented.

Several senators pressed officials on cost and equity. "They don't have the funds to get those pouches at $30 a piece," said Senator Smitherman, noting that wealthier districts can absorb costs while poorer districts may struggle. Smitherman said one pilot school's pouch purchase cost about $20,000 and cautioned that imposing acquisition costs on districts without supplemental funding would amount to an unfunded mandate.

The bill text, as described in committee, leaves the storage method to local boards and allows storage in a locker, a car or a “similar storage location.” The sponsor’s summary told the committee the bill does not mandate a specific storage device and instead requires that devices be kept off a student’s person during school hours; local systems would decide how to meet that requirement.

The measure also would require local boards to adopt an Internet-safety policy and would require student instruction on risks and benefits of social media before eighth grade. The State Department of Education would develop the curriculum and the annual survey to track participation and compliance.

Committee action: Committee members moved to report the bill favorably. Senator Price moved to report favorably on the subcommittee recommendation and Senator Hovey seconded. The clerk called the roll; Senators Butler, Chastain, Figures, Hatcher, Hovey, Kitchens, Price, Smitherman and Stutz voted "aye." The committee recorded a 9-0 favorable report.

What was not decided or remains local: The bill does not specify that parents must purchase pouches if they want their children to bring phones; it leaves that determination to local boards. Several senators said local boards and superintendents already maintain wireless-communication policies in many districts. Senator Smith said he plans to offer an amendment to change the proposed funding penalty so that classroom supply money would not be the mechanism for any sanction.

The committee adjourned after issuing the favorable report; the bill will proceed in the Senate legislative process.