Minnesota lawmakers propose taking classroom cellphone bans statewide

A group of Minnesota lawmakers has proposed banning cellphones in public schools throughout the day for K-8 students and during class time for high schoolers.

The legislation heard by a state Senate panel on Monday builds on policies being crafted by individual school districts for the coming school year, and would go into effect statewide in 2026-27.

State Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, introduced the bill in January following roundtable discussions in eight metro and greater Minnesota school districts beginning last summer. She told colleagues Monday that districts and principals still would have the flexibility to implement the requirements as they see fit.

During the roundtables, participants voiced now-familiar concerns about the impact of cellphones on academic performance and student mental health, and the desire for statewide action.

“We heard on several occasions that the schools would feel supported if the state backed up their policies,” a Senate roundtable summary states.

In November, Mann had yet to tip her hand on a cellphones-in-schools strategy when she met with a group of St. Paul high school students who questioned the need and the timing of a cellphone ban — with one kid saying, “It’s just too late.”

The state’s second-largest district now is considering a policy for 2025-26 that would have the same restrictions as those proposed in the Senate bill.

The legislation, which covers smartwatches, too, is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Jordan Rasmusson of Fergus Falls, plus others. A companion bill has yet to be introduced in the state House. Minnesota would join Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia among states that have enacted or are moving toward cellphone bans in classrooms.

Many school districts in Minnesota already have banned or limited cellphone use, and officials in St. Cloud, Maple Grove and St. Anthony are among those who’ve told lawmakers that students are enjoying more face-to-face conversations, fewer distractions in classrooms and less conflict in hallways.

The St. Cloud Area School District has seen a 50% decrease in cellphone discipline referrals since it began limiting the use of the devices in 2023-24, Superintendent Laurie Putnam said Monday.

Last year, legislators approved a new law requiring districts to establish cellphone policies by March 15 of this year. Included, too, was a directive to the state’s elementary and secondary school principals to provide a range of best practices to guide the districts’ thinking.

The resulting “tool kit” suggested all classrooms be phone-free with few exceptions, and by the start of the 2024-25 school year, there was a flurry of action by districts adopting “away for the day” policies in kindergarten through eighth grade and no cellphones during instructional periods in high schools.

At the same time, school support staff members, as well as school resource officers (SROs), have given increased attention to the hazards associated with social media, including in Rochester, where one officer implored students last fall not to share inappropriate photos and videos.

At a legislative roundtable in Mankato, a teacher said the photo-sharing practice was common.

According to the summary of the sessions: “The teacher asked the students, ‘Is it safe to say that seeing a nude photo of a student on social media was no longer shocking?’ The group of students nodded yes, with one reporting that ‘it is something that we see a lot.’”

The proposed legislation barring cellphones in classrooms provides exceptions for devices needed for medical use and as part of individualized education plans for students with disabilities, as well as “other exceptions at the discretion of the school principal.”

The state Department of Education also would be expected to contract for a statewide campaign about “the negative effects of screen overuse and misuse on children,” and grants would be made available to districts to implement the cellphone-free policy.

The potential funding amounts have yet to be specified.

Private schools would be unaffected by the proposed legislation, although some are adopting their own classroom bans.