Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Aug. 1 signed into law House Bill 1481 which requires all school systems in the state to create cellphone-free learning environments in classrooms.
The new law requires schools to adopt policies by Sept. 18 that prohibit students from using personal wireless communications devices such as cellphones and smartwatches during the school day.
School policies must either ban personal devices on school property or provide an out-of-sight storage area for devices during the school day.
The goal of the law is to eliminate distractions from Texas students’ learning environments, allowing them to succeed in school.
“Educators and researchers have raised concerns about the impact that smartphones have on student learning and student engagement,” Gov. Abbott said in an Aug. 1 press release. “Experts have explained that smartphones and social media affect the mental health of children. If we are going to be number one in education, it is going to require the undivided attention of our students in the classroom.”
The governor signed the bill on Friday in Amarillo, Texas. He was joined by Speaker Dustin Burrows, Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Kelly Hancock, Representative Caroline Fairly, Representative Brad Buckley, Representative Jared Patterson, Amarillo Independent School District Superintendent Deidre Parish, Amarillo High School teacher Mellessa Denny, and other state and local officials.
The Texas law comes after several states have issued their own phone bans in schools, including Missouri, New York, Florida, and Iowa, and the District of Columbia.
