The eleventh week of the session was heavy with debate as we prepare to go into our second legislative deadline.
One of the bills debated this week, which I had the privilege of floor managing, was House File 782, the Governor’s proposal on cell phones in schools. It passed in the Senate 49-0.
The bill requires that, starting with the 2025-26 school year, each school board must adopt policies regarding student use of personal electronic devices during school hours that restrict student use of such devices during classroom instructional time.
The policies must do the following:
Identify policies and information related to various educational devices and technologies that will be available to students for instructional purposes
Identify the methods for a student’s parent or guardian to communicate with them during school hours or while in a school-sponsored activity
Identify the methods that a student’s parent or guardian may use to communicate with them during an emergency
Include protocols that the school will use to securely store a student’s personal electronic device when such device is in the school’s possession
Specify the discipline associated with a student’s violation of the policies, including discipline associated with a student’s use of a personal electronic device during classroom instruction or during an assessment
Establish a process for a student’s parent or guardian to petition the school to allow the student to maintain access to their personal electronic device during part of the school day during instructional time if the parent or guardian can establish a legitimate reason related to the student’s physical or mental health for the student to maintain access to the device
Allow a student who has an IEP or 504 plan to maintain access to their personal electronic device during instructional time if the IEP or 504 plan requires access
“Personal electronic device” is specified to include but not be limited to electronic communication equipment, mobile phones, smart phones, video game devices, and portable media players. The State Board of Education is given authority to adopt rules to implement.
The bill requires the director of the Dept. of Education to develop and distribute model policies by May 1, 2025, that, if adopted by a public, charter, or accredited nonpublic school, would satisfy requirements for policies governing student use of personal electronic devices. A school board may adopt policies limiting student use of personal electronic devices during school hours that are more stringent than the model policies developed by the DE director.
The bill requires the Dept. of Education (DE) and the Dept. of Public Safety (DPS) to consult on revisions that school districts need to make (and that accredited nonpublic schools may make) to high quality emergency operation plans to take into account the provisions of required cellphone policies. The DE and DPS are also required to provide support and guidance to school districts on how to revise their high-quality emergency operations plans so that they are consistent with the provisions of the required cellphone policies. The agencies must provide similar support to accredited nonpublic schools that elect to adopt student cellphone policies.
By July 1, 2025, each school district must revise their high-quality emergency operation plan so that it is consistent with required cell phone policies.