Arkansas lawmakers file bill to restrict phone access at school
State lawmakers filed legislation Wednesday that would ban smartphones and other personal electronic devices from all Arkansas public schools beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
Senate Bill 142, also called the Bell to Bell, No Cell Act, follows through on the promise to ban cellphones in schools made by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders during her State of the State address this month.
Speaking during a mental health event at the Capitol rotunda in Little Rock Wednesday morning, Sanders said the bill will curtail 'unrestricted access to smartphones and social media,' which she said has caused a decline in children's mental health over the last decade.
'Arkansas has the opportunity to lead on this issue globally and pass one of the most comprehensive phone-free school bills in the world, and that's a good thing,' Sanders said. 'And when we do that, I truly believe we won't just improve test scores and school discipline, we'll also get to one of the root causes of so many of the mental health issues facing our state today.'
Co-sponsored by Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, and Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris, SB142 requires cellphone policies — which school districts must publish on their websites — to include exemptions for health reasons, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), extracurricular activities and emergencies.
Policies must be submitted to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval, and a district that fails to adopt or enforce a policy will be cited for a violation of state accreditation standards.
Under the proposed law, districts would not be liable if a personal electronic device is lost, stolen or damaged.
Eubanks told the Advocate he has first-hand knowledge of health issues and learning problems for students because his daughter is a counselor at an elementary school. SB142 is a way for the Legislature 'to help our young kids have a bright future,' he said.
'We want to be able to limit the distraction that students have in school,' Eubanks said. 'They're there to learn, and we want to make sure that that happens.'
Arkansas governor, education secretary call on schools to join mental health pilot project
Proposals to reduce smartphone usage have gained traction in recent years in states like California and Florida. Arkansas joined the conversation last summer when the governor and education secretary invited schools to participate in a pilot program focused on restricting cellphone access during the school day. In August, state lawmakers permitted the Arkansas Department of Education to distribute $7 million to districts to cover the cost of pouches or lockers where students could store their phones during class time.
Sanders said Wednesday the administration 'received an overwhelmingly positive response from school leaders.' Stakeholders, who used data from the pilot program to inform SB142, have been working on the legislation for over a year, Dees said in an interview. The bill aims to respond to parents' concerns, he said.
'Our response today with this bill is that we're no longer going to allow our children to be guinea pigs of Big Tech and social media and the ramifications that have affected our kids,' he said.
Dees anticipates the bill will be presented in committee next week and said it will have bipartisan support. As of Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Reginald Murdock of Marianna was the sole Democratic co-sponsor of the bill.
This is not the first time state lawmakers have tried to limit Arkansas children's access to social media. Dees and Eubanks sponsored the Social Media Safety Act of 2023 to prohibit minors from creating a social media account without parental consent. It would have been the first such law in the nation, but a federal judge blocked the law in August 2023 before it was set to take effect.
Echoing statements made in her State of the State address, Sanders in a press release Wednesday said she plans to update the law so it's no longer held up in court, and to give parents the right to sue tech companies under state law 'so they can hold bad actors accountable.'
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