Put that thing away! Danny Burgess wants to study school cell phone bans

Close Up Of A Line Of High School Students Using Mobile Phones

One lawmaker’s proposal to study how schools can ban cell phones during the school day cleared the first committee stop Monday.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Danny Burgess, a Zephyrhills Republican, would create a pilot program to help the state understand how best to eradicate cell phones from schools.

“We all know that cell phones are a distraction, that they take us away from the academics of school,” Burgess said as the Education Pre K-12 Committee voted 9-0 for SB 1296.

He compared cell phones to an addictive drug for kids.

In 2023, the Legislature passed a law requiring school districts to prohibit cell phone usage during instructional time in the classroom. But Burgess’ bill aims to take it further and explore how to ban phones during the entire school day, including on school grounds and during school-sponsored activities off school property but still during the school day. The report would also explore how the policy affects students’ behavior and academics.

Under his bill, six school districts — two small ones, two medium-sized ones and two large ones — would be part of a pilot program to report back to the Senate President and House Speaker by Dec. 1, 2026 about the situation. Burgess’ bill does not specify which school districts would participate.

“Hopefully we’re approaching this right by making sure that we’re surveying districts that may already have this implemented and then getting that feedback and determining if there’s a better, more comprehensive approach from that,” Burgess said.

Some of the questions lawmakers want to understand are the exceptions to a full ban, such as how do the schools allow phones for native English speakers to access curriculum or when students ride the school buses and during emergencies when parents need to reach their kids.

“The report must also include a model policy that school districts and charter schools may adopt,” the bill said. “The report must also include student code of conduct provisions for violations of the policy restricting the use of cell phones and other electronic devices.”

Burgess cited a National Library of Medicine study that found students who used phones in class took fewer notes and got worse grades compared to students who put their phones away.

His bill is headed next for the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee.