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Committee advances limit on student phone use during school day
Summary
House Bill 208, which would require school districts to adopt policies limiting cell phone and social-media use during the school day while preserving health and emergency exemptions, passed out of committee after debate on safety and implementation.
Representative Josh Bray introduced House Bill 208, which would require local school districts to establish policies that limit use of cell phones during the school day and add a social-media filtering component on district websites to restrict non-educational use.
Bray told the committee the measure is similar to a bill that passed the committee last year and that this version adds a social media component so districts would filter or limit social-media access during the school day except for educational uses.
Members questioned implementation and exemptions. Representative Bogdanowski asked whether filtering social media would create additional technology costs; Bray said districts already use filtering through their firewalls and technology staff and that the capability exists at the district level.
Representative Hill asked about medical-device exemptions for students with type 1 diabetes; Bray pointed to Section 2(b) of the bill as providing the exemption for devices used for health monitoring. Representative Kamuel and others asked how emergency access would be preserved; Bray said districts would implement local procedures and that classrooms already have phones that teachers can use. Several members stressed the mental-health rationale for restricting phones, citing concerns about cyberbullying and suicide rates among teenage girls.
Representative Riley and Representative Proctor spoke in favor, with Proctor noting local suicide incidents and calling the measure "a proactive approach." The committee passed House Bill 208 with the opinion that it should pass. The mover and seconder were not identified in the provided record.
Why it matters: Sponsors and supporters said the bill aims to improve classroom focus and reduce online harms while preserving access for medical and emergency needs. Implementation details — including district-level policies and technology filtering — will determine local effects and any costs.
Votes at a glance
House Bill 208 — Sponsor: Representative Josh Bray. Issue: districts must adopt cell-phone-use policies and limit social-media access during the school day; medical and emergency exemptions included. Committee action: advanced with committee opinion that it "should pass." Mover/second: not specified in record.
