Missouri lawmakers heard public testimony on a trio of bills Wednesday that would require schools to limit cellphone use.
The bills, sponsored by a Democrat and two Republicans, require school districts to create policies outlining cellphone use. That would include banning cellphones during “instructional activities.”
How the schools would enforce those policies, including how they would dictate phone use outside instruction, would be up to them.
For all the bills, exceptions to the phone policy must also be established.
Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, a sponsor of one of the bills, cited her experience as a former teacher as to why the policies are needed.
“As somebody who was leading a classroom just two years ago, I can attest to the fact that some of our students really are almost addicted to their cellphones,” Steinhoff said.
Steinhoff said she didn’t want her legislation to strongarm school districts into adopting a specific phone policy.
“We want to leave local control to be able to decide what works best for their area,” Steinhoff said.
Brice Beck, deputy superintendent for the Cape Girardeau School District, spoke in favor of the legislation.
He said the district in 2024 implemented a cellphone-free policy for its high school. He said the district then expanded the same system for its junior and alternative high schools.
“Our staff feedback has been extremely positive up until this point, related to minimizing student distractions in the classroom, increased student engagement, social interactions between peers and student to teacher interactions, and then higher levels of teaching and learning as a whole,” Beck said.
Rep. Ann Kelley, R-Lamar, said if the legislature decides to pass this policy, it needs to be in the school district’s hands, not the state ordering anything.
She also said the state needs to have school districts’ backs on these policies.
“Because it is a big thing whenever school districts do this, and they get a lot of grief from parents and students, so all the support that we can give them is beneficial,” Kelley said.
Two of the three bills require schools to have an established policy by the 2026-27 school year.
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