Utah bill barring cellphone use in schools unanimously passes a Senate committee

Feb 4, 2025, 9:43 PM

SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah Senate committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would prohibit students from using cellphones or smart watches in the classroom.

SB178, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, would also allow school districts to make exceptions to that policy or impose even stricter requirements on technology use.

But outside of that, under the bill, the statewide standard would be a ban on phones, smart watches, and other devices during class time. Those devices would still be allowed during lunch, recess, and between classes.

“I think it’s time for the state to reset that default,” Fillmore told the Senate Education Committee, which voted unanimously to pass the bill and send it to the full Senate for consideration. Top leaders there have already signaled strong support.

“I personally love it,” said Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.

“I think (Fillmore’s) bill is driven by data,” added Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, who has sponsored legislation targeting social media companies over their policies for children. “It tackles a really serious problem in our schools.”

Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, also expressed support. She said Democrats approve of letting individual districts make changes if needed.

“I like that people recognize there may be exceptions to the rule,” Escamilla said, noting that some students are the main point of contact for younger siblings, while others use technology for translation services while learning English. “I think the schools can make those decisions. We appreciate that that’s being empowered in the local school districts.”

Fillmore said the bill is necessary because students are distracted by their digital devices and becoming anxious. He argued SB178 takes a “light touch” and is a “locally driven solution.”

During the Senate committee hearing Tuesday, many members of the public spoke for and against the bill, although most comments were largely supportive. The bill received support from several educators, the Granite School District and the Utah chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Anna Sokol, a senior at Alta High School, said her school instituted a phone policy this past year, and she spoke of the importance of learning during school hours.

“It’s the last four years where you legally have to learn anything,” she said. “The seven hours a day we have in school should not be a part of the screen time statistics that our generation has.”

Jen Christensen, the principal at Olympus High School, also spoke in support, noting how frequently notifications from smartphone applications can disrupt focus for students during class.

“You lose a significant amount of time of classroom engagement,” due to phones, she said.

A couple of commenters spoke against the proposal, however, accusing the Legislature of overstepping. One of them was Monica Wilbur, who said the phone policy is a “gross overreach of state power and authority.”

“This is unacceptable in a country that values individual liberty and from the Legislature that is dominated by Republicans,” she said. “It is not the proper role of government to outlaw what is inherently legal property to possess. It is the parents’ prerogative always to decide if, when and why they give their kids phones.”

This is not the first time the Utah Legislature has considered limiting phone usage at school. A similar bill, sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, failed to clear a House committee in 2023 in a 3-9 vote. That bill would have banned students from even having phones or smart watches with them in the classroom in most cases.

Utah isn’t the only state to examine policies for cellphone use in schools — at least 19 states have policies limiting use or recommending that school districts enact their own policies, according to an analysis by Education Week. Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina have statewide restrictions.

In neighboring Idaho, Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order last fall encouraging school districts to adopt a phone policy, along with a potential monetary award for districts that comply.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has also been an advocate for restricting phones during school hours. Early last year, he penned letters to school leaders across the state urging support for removing cellphones during class time.

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Utah bill barring cellphone use in schools unanimously passes a Senate committee