House passes bill to curb student cell phone use

House passes bill to curb student cell phone use March 11, 2025

Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, speaks on House Bill 208 on the House floor on Tuesday. The bill would require school boards across the state to implement a cell phone prohibition policy at public schools. A high-resolution photo can be found here.

FRANKFORT — Studies show cell phones are a major distraction for primary and secondary education students. House Bill 208 seeks to resolve the issue in public schools across Kentucky.

Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, is the primary sponsor of the legislation. He said on the House floor on Tuesday that the legislation would require the board of education for each public school district to adopt a policy on the possession and use of personal telecommunication devices by students during the school day.

Bray said studies show limiting student cell phone use at school improves mental health and test scores.

“There’s been a lot of research done on cell phones with kids and the damages it causes to their mental health and to their ability to learn when they’re near,” Bray said. “There have been studies done that show in school districts that have implemented policies to prohibit their usage during instructional time, test scores have jumped up by 6% pretty immediately.”

The House adopted a floor amendment to HB 208 on Tuesday that added some clarifying language and stipulated that the prohibition is for instructional time, with a few exceptions, Bray said.

Teachers would be allowed to authorize cell phone use for an instructional purpose, and students would be allowed to use their phones during an emergency, he added.

The legislation would also direct the school districts to block access to social media websites on school computers and school internet networks.

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, said cell phone usage is not a major issue at the elementary school where she works, but she knows HB 208 would help middle and high schools greatly.

She said she knows of a school in Louisville where a prohibition policy was recently implemented successfully.

“In the first two weeks of school, more books were checked out in the library than in the entire previous year,” Bojanowski said. “… I appreciate this legislation, and I strongly support it.”

Rep. Chad Aull, D-Lexington, said one of his children is a “pretty strong advocate” against HB 208. He said his child worries how the bill might impact her ability to contact her parents during an emergency.

Bray said there is “a clear exception” for emergencies within the bill.

Aull said he would vote in-favor of the legislation, despite his daughter’s opposition, since the bill would allow a student to use a cell phone during an emergency.

Rep. Anne Gay Donworth, D-Lexington, said she is also not going to be “very popular” with her children by voting in favor of HB 208, but she believes it is the right thing to do.

“I want them focused on learning while they are there,” she said, adding she believes the legislation will improve behavioral issues at schools as well.

The Kentucky House of Representatives unanimously approved HB 208 on Tuesday by a 98-0 vote. It will now go before the Senate for consideration.

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https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/publicservices/pio/release.html#HB208-031125