California’s new law requires schools to limit phone use

California politician Gavin Newsom signed the Phone-Free School Act into instrumentality this week, requiring each schoolhouse district, charter school, and region bureau of acquisition statewide to instrumentality rules limiting compartment telephone usage by July 1st, 2026. There are exceptions to the rule, including utilizing phones for emergencies oregon with support nether definite circumstances.

“We cognize that excessive smartphone usage increases anxiety, depression, and different intelligence wellness issues — but we person the powerfulness to intervene,” said Newsom successful a statement.

This comes arsenic different states similar New York see pursuing authorities for a full prohibition connected phones successful schools. It’s portion of a question of laws targeting tech-related kid information astatine the authorities and nationalist level, including the Kids Online Safety Act, arsenic good arsenic age-gating laws successful places similar Texas.

As written, Assembly Bill 3216 says schools shall “develop and adopt, and shall update each 5 years, a argumentation to bounds oregon prohibit the usage by its pupils of smartphones” arsenic agelong arsenic they’re astatine a schoolhouse tract oregon nether the supervision of schoolhouse employees. It describes the extremity arsenic promoting “evidence-based usage of smartphone practices to enactment pupil learning and well-being” and says it should beryllium “responsive to the unsocial needs and desires of pupils, parents, and educators successful each community.”

It besides says schools tin instrumentality “enforcement mechanisms” that bounds entree to phones.

The California School Boards Association opposed the caller law, arguing it’s redundant and forced decision-makers to follow policies restricting compartment phones adjacent if it was recovered that determination was nary need, arsenic The New York Times reported.

According to EducationWeek’s tracker, astatine slightest 15 states person added laws oregon policies astir restricting students’ usage of compartment phones successful schools.