Earlier this month, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced the Focus on Learning Act, which would require the U.S. Department of Education to complete a study on the effects of cellphone use in K-12 classrooms on students' mental health and academic performance.
"Widespread use of cellphones in schools are at best a distraction for young Americans; at worst, they expose schoolchildren to content that is harmful and addictive. Our legislation will make schools remain centers of learning," Cotton said.
And Kaine said: "We've made a lot of progress in our recovery from the depths of the pandemic. But there's much more work to be done to help students overcome learning loss and excel in the classroom. That includes looking into how cellphone use in schools is impacting students' mental health and their ability to learn.
"This bill would help us do that, by gathering information and providing it to schools as they grapple with students' use of cellphones in class and how to best set them up for success."
The Washington Post published an editorial Nov. 25 advocating for the banning of cellphones in schools.
"Social media, the U.S. surgeon general wrote in an advisory this year, might be linked to the growing mental health crisis among teens. And even if this link turns out to be weaker than some recent research suggests, smartphones are undoubtedly a classroom distraction," the Washington Post editorial board wrote.
"Understandably, individual schools and school districts — in Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania and elsewhere — are trying to crack down on smartphones. Students are required to store the devices in backpacks or lockers during classes, or to place them in magnetic locking pouches. In 2024, these efforts should go even further: Impose an outright ban on bringing cellphones to school, which parents should welcome and support."
The Washington Post editorial continued: "In educational settings, smartphones have an almost entirely negative impact: Educators and students alike note they can fuel cyberbullying and stifle meaningful in-person interaction.
"A 14-country study cited by UNESCO found that the mere presence of a mobile phone nearby was enough to distract students from learning. It can take up to 20 minutes for students to refocus.
"Education Department data suggest that a majority of schools prohibit nonacademic cellphone use during school hours, but the enforcement of those policies is often lax — teachers can't confront every student or confiscate every device; some report students request bathroom breaks to check their notifications in the stalls.
"Phones are still in hand between classes, at lunch and recess, and often during instructional time despite putative bans — 97 percent of teens report using their phones during the school day, mostly for nonacademic purposes."
The Washington Post wrote that 43% of 8-to-12-year-olds own a smartphone, as do 88% of teens 13 to 18, according to the 2021 Common Sense Census.
Parents oppose bans of cellphones in schools, the Post editorializes, because they want to remain in contact with their children, especially in the event of an emergency.
The Post added: "And if there's a true need to communicate with home, there's always the option of using the school office's landline, as students have done for decades."