by Donald Eng
Credit: cottonbro studio / Pexels.com
HARTFORD, CT — A coalition of parent and educator groups are hoping the legislature enacts a comprehensive cell phone ban during the upcoming legislative session that begins Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Backers say the measure would protect student mental health, restore classroom focus, and foster genuine social connection during the school day.
The Phone-Free CT coalition includes the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), AFT Connecticut, The Anxious Generation Movement, Distraction Free Schools Policy Project, and the Becca Schmill Foundation.
“Every day, our educators experience how cell phones in the classroom are distracting teaching and learning and eroding the attention, civility, and mental health of our students,” said CEA President Kate Dias. “Legislators need to take action to ensure that every district has the ability to put learning—not cell phones —at the center of the school day.”
Dias said when students are constantly checking their phones, schools lose opportunities for learning and human connection.
Deepa Javeri, CT ambassador for The Anxious Generation, said many Connecticut schools already had cell phone policies in place, but more needed to be done.
House Bill 7009, a civics-related proposal that included an amendment requiring boards of education to adopt policies limiting smart device use, passed the state House of Representatives 128-20 with bipartisan support last year but the session ended before it got a vote in the Senate.
“A statewide school bell-to-bell environment ensures comprehensive protection from digital distractions during the school day for all of Connecticut’s students,” she said.
Leslie Blatteau, vice president for PreK-12 for AFT Connecticut, said her group was working with administrators to reset norms and establish a culture shift.
“Our collective goal is to ensure cell phone-free spaces for our students to thrive and learn,” she said.
The group is seeking a bell-to-bell phone-free environment in public schools, with phones securely stored during the day; universal enforcement in all schools and all grades; flexibility for districts in implementation and evaluation metrics to measure student engagement, attendance and wellbeing.
Over 30 states have enacted some form of ban or restriction on cell phone use during the school day. Research on the results is mixed, with some studies showing bans can improve academic performance.
“Removing cell phones from the school day restores what matters most in our classrooms: attention, engagement, and human connection,” Dias said. “When distractions are eliminated, teachers can teach more effectively, students can fully participate in learning, and schools become more focused, supportive environments where every student has the opportunity to succeed.”