Mass. Senate committee advances bill on statewide school cellphone ban

Senate members of the Massachusetts Joint Education Committee voted Tuesday in favor of advancing a statewide ban on cellphones in public schools. It incorporates language from seven other Senate school cellphone ban proposals and next heads to the Senate Ways and Means committee.

In a joint statement, Senate leaders said they support the legislation because of emerging evidence that cellphones can be barriers to student achievement.

"The cellphone is one of the most distracting devices ever created," Senate President Karen Spilka and Sen. Jason Lewis, chair of the Joint Committee on Education, said. "Overwhelming evidence shows us that cellphones are major barriers to student growth and achievement in the classroom, and they make it harder for our talented educators to teach."

The redrafted Senate bill, known officially as “an Act to promote student learning and mental health,” was supported 6-0 by Senate members Tuesday morning.

If the measure makes it through the legislature and gets the governor's signature, it would require all Massachusetts public school districts to create and enforce policies around cellphone use during the school day and during school-sponsored activities by the 2026-27 school year. Those policies would have to prohibit student access to personal electronic devices during regular school hours but exceptions can be made for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, in the event of emergencies, and for students who travel off campus for programming like Early College.

The bill adds that district policies may differ depending on grade level and that any policy must include ways for a parent or guardian to contact their child during the school day. Districts would also have to set up an enforcement mechanism and all policies are subject to approval by the school committee.

“As legislators, neighbors, and parents, it is incumbent upon us to ensure classrooms are places where young people focus, learn, and thrive,” the written statement said.

The proposal is intended to help students with several issues, including social skills, mental health, and even school safety, according to a fact sheet released by Lewis’s office. It highlighted a recent study from the National Education Association, the national arm of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, that found 83% of members support cellphone bans.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has also publicly supported the idea of a “bell to bell” cellphone restriction. In January she backed the “STUDY Act,” which was introduced by state. Reps. Kate-Lipper Garabedian and Alice Peisch and Sen. Julian Cyr.

According to Senate leadership, 80% of school districts in Massachusetts already maintain some form of cellphone policy. State Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler has also publicly expressed support of restrictions on cellphone usage during the school day.