Bill to curb cell phone use in Kentucky schools receives unanimous vote, moves on to Senate

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — House Bill 208 is headed to the Senate after a unanimous vote.

The bill would require every public school district to implement a policy prohibiting cell phone usage during instructional time.

Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, 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 bill would also direct the school districts to block access to social media websites on school computers and school internet networks.

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

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

Several Kentucky districts adopted much stricter policies regarding cell phones for the 2024–25 school year.

Jessamine County Schools announced a change in its policy in July, citing that phones are becoming “too much of a distraction.”

“Our goal is to limit student distractions, negative teacher/student interactions, and decrease social media-fueled conflict by giving students the opportunity to disengage from cellphone use during class time,” school officials said.

According to the new policy, all personal devices must have airplane mode activated and turned into a “centralized location” within the classroom at the beginning of each class period. Devices will be returned to students at the end of each class period but not for in-class restroom breaks.

Bourbon County Schools adopted a similar procedure.

“Kids could be texting each other, not focused on what the teacher is teaching. They could be playing a game on the phone; they could be watching someone on the phone on YouTube. They could be on social media, on the phone. I’ve seen it previously in other schools where it’s been—it was an issue with that,” Bourbon Co. Middle School Principal Littleton Ward told FOX 56 in 2024.

A comparable bill was introduced last year that eventually died in the House.

House Bill 208 was passed unanimously on Tuesday and will move on to the Senate for consideration.