Hanging up: How is Utah's new 'no cellphones in class' policy working out so far?

SALT LAKE CITY — It's been a few weeks since Utah kids reported back to school with their cellphones silenced and buried deep in their backpacks or a secured pouch — at least during class time.

Earlier this year, Utah lawmakers passed the so-called "No cellphones in K-12 schools" bill, prohibiting students in the state's public schools from using their phones when they are in class.

The new law includes a local caveat — individual schools or districts can opt for a different policy.

But SB178 is now the state's "default" practice. Previously, K-12 students were allowed to use cellphones whenever or wherever they wanted, unless their district had its own policy in place.

So how's 'no phones in class' going?

"Things are going great," SB178's sponsor, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, told the Deseret News.

"It's been socially and academically beneficial — and I've heard that from teachers, as well as students. … Teachers like having the support of a law to back them when they know that cellphones are a distraction."

And students, added Fillmore, sometimes joke with him about it being difficult not having their devices perpetually within arm's length. "But then they tell me it really is a good thing not to have the phones because they are paying closer attention — and talking to more people."

Fillmore said he has read reports that cellphone/classroom prohibitions are also narrowing the student gaps between the "haves and have-nots" at a time when the latest cellphones can cost over $1,000.

Those early benefits, he said, were intended and expected. "But it's still a wonderful thing to see — to have kids report that they are spending more time talking to each other, and growing and maturing socially."

While the new law allows for local tweaks, Fillmore's not aware of any schools or districts opting, by policy, to allow cellphone use during class time.

"I know some have taken steps to go farther than what the law requires."

In a social media post last month, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the state's new school cellphone ban "a nice step forward" — before adding "but it was a huge mistake not to pass a full-day (bell-to-bell) ban in Utah.

"Every piece of evidence shows that we must pass a full-day ban or risk damaging our kids more."

Fillmore said he's on board with the governor's call for a bell-to-bell cellphone prohibition in Utah K-12 schools.

"We passed what we had a clear majority for, but I would like to see it go further."

Thirty-five states, including Utah, started the new academic year with laws or rules limiting phones and other electronic devices in school. The change, according to the Associated Press, has come remarkably quickly: Florida became the first state to pass such a law in 2023.

Both Democrats and Republicans have taken up the cause, reflecting a growing consensus that phones are bad for kids' mental health and take their focus away from learning, even as some researchers say the issue is less clear-cut.

"Anytime you have a bill that's passed in California and Florida, you know you're probably onto something that's pretty popular," Georgia state Rep. Scott Hilton, a Republican, told a forum on cellphone use earlier this summer in Atlanta.

Phones are banned throughout the school day in 18 states and the District of Columbia, although Georgia and Florida impose such "bell-to-bell" bans only from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Another seven states, including Utah, ban them during class time, but not between classes or during lunch. Still others, particularly those with traditions of local school control, mandate only a cellphone policy, believing districts will take the hint and sharply restrict phone access, the Associated Press reported.

Thumbs-up from Utah educators

Darin Nielsen, the Utah State Board of Education's assistant superintendent of student learning, told the Deseret News that the state's new school cellphone policy is a classroom boon.

"Anything we can do to improve opportunities for student focus and engagement in a learning environment is a good thing."

Children and teens, he added, may not have the life experiences to know that distractions can hinder their ability to concentrate, think deeply and learn.

Students at Park City High School, for example, are required to use school-provided Yondr pouches — a magnetically lockable pouch that securely stores cellphones during school hours.

"Do the kids like it? Not so much," reported Park City High Principal Caleb Fine.

But Fine added that removing cellphones from the minute-to-minute school environment "creates so much more positive learning."

The new state-mandated school cellphone policy has likely gone largely unnoticed by Jordan School District students during the first few weeks of a new academic year.

The district's "no cellphone" policy has been in effect for a year, said district spokesperson Sandy Riesgraf.

"Things are going really quite well," she said. "Students say they are engaging more in learning and with each other. Teachers say it has impacted teaching in the classroom in a positive way, as well."

Earlier this year, when the Utah cellphone bill was being debated, Milan Venegas, a student at Timpview High School, said he witnessed differences in student interactions when the Provo School District enacted a policy managing cellphone usage in classrooms.

"There have been so many positive changes," said Venegas.

Connecting with peers, he added, is one of the most important aspects of attending school. "If we can't connect with each other, how are we going to communicate change? How are we going to do anything in our world? How are we going to go into the workforce?"

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