Blitz Bureau
SACRAMENTO: School districts in California will have to create rules restricting student smartphone use under a new law that the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, signed on Monday.
The law requires districts to pass rules by 1 July 2026 to limit or ban students from using smartphones on campus or while they are under the supervision of school staff. Districts will have to update their policies every five years after that.
Mental health issues
The legislation makes California the latest state to try to curb student phone access in an effort to minimise distractions in the classroom and address the mental health impacts of social media on children. “This new law will help students focus on academics, social development and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school,” Newsom said in a statement.
Florida, Louisiana, Indiana and several other states have passed laws aimed at restricting student phone use at school. New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, said in May that she would support banning smartphones in the state’s schools..
The Los Angeles unified school district, the second-largest in the US, voted to ban student phone use during the school day beginning in January.
Critics of phone restriction policies say the burden should not fall on teachers to enforce them. Others worry the rules will make it harder for students to seek help if there is an emergency or argue that decisions on phone bans should be left up to individual districts or schools.
“We support those districts that have already acted independently to implement restrictions,” said Troy Flint, a spokesperson for the California School Boards Association. “We simply oppose the mandate.”
Law signed in 2019
The move comes after Newsom signed a law in 2019 authorising school districts to restrict student phone access. In June, he announced plans to take on the issue again after the US Surgeon General called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their effects on young people. The Governor then sent letters to districts last month, urging them to limit student device use on campus.
California Assembly Member Josh Hoover, a Republican representing Folsom, introduced the bill with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are also parents.
