Rep. Caroline Fairly (R–Amarillo) has filed House Bill 1481 to ban student cell phone use during the school day, which has proven to be a significant distraction to learning and even to in-person human interaction. According to a 2024 Pew Research study, one-third of teachers say distractions caused by cell phones are a problem in their classroom. That number jumps to an astounding 72% when only high school teachers are surveyed.

Many educators insist that cell phones not only hinder the academic performance of students but also negatively affect their mental health and behavior. This belief is supported by a growing body of research showing the detrimental impact of phones on the mental health of adolescents.

Unfortunately, while ATPE believes it would be helpful to require all school boards to have a policy disallowing use of phones during instructional time, the bill as drafted is overly prescriptive as to what a ban must look like. Many, if not most, of the districts that have voluntarily chosen to implement a cell phone policy have implemented one that disallows cell phone use without requiring educators to take up phones from all students during the day. These policies, which have proven effective, would not satisfy this bill’s mandates, which would require educators to take possession of all phones during the school day. (Read more about Texas districts’ approach to this issue in this atpenews.org feature.)

ATPE encourages educators to write to their legislators to ask them to ensure legislation that does not prohibit districts from enacting local policies that allow students to retain physical possession of their phones yet still prohibit their use during the instructional day.