Senate panel defers statewide cellphone ban after DOE cites new BOE policy and liability concerns

The Senate Education Committee deferred action on HB1559, a bill that would prohibit students from using telecommunication devices on school grounds during instructional hours and prescribe strict rules on confiscation and return.

Heidi Armstrong of the Department of Education said the Board of Education adopted a statewide cell‑phone policy on Feb. 12, 2026 that already bans phones at elementary and middle schools from bell to bell and restricts high‑school use to non‑instructional times (before/after school, lunch, recess). Armstrong said DOE is drafting implementation guidelines, expected by May 2026, to support the policy and that the bill is more prescriptive than current BOE policy in how confiscated phones would be stored and returned.

Sarah Miliante Lafin of HSTA said teachers are exhausted being the "phone police" and worried about liability if confiscated phones are misplaced. A student testifier, Nina Lopresti, opposed the bill as unnecessary and redundant given existing DOE policies and argued the measure could harm productive device use.

Committee members asked whether the bill’s three‑month forfeiture provision would be included in DOE guidelines; DOE said it was not planning three months in its guidance. The committee deferred the bill indefinitely, allowing DOE time to finish its implementation guidance and for the legislature to consider whether statutory action is required.

Next steps: DOE said implementation guidelines will be ready in May 2026; the committee deferred HB1559 indefinitely to let policy and guidance work proceed.