Alabama lawmakers vote to ban cellphone use in K-12 public schools

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama will soon join the states that have banned or restricted the presence of cellphones in schools.

The Alabama Senate on Wednesday voted 30-2 for the bill to prohibit students in K-12 public schools from using phones during the school day. The phones must be “turned off and stored off their person in a locker, car or similar storage location” during the instructional day.

The bill now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. Ivey used a portion of her State of the State address earlier this year to urge lawmakers to pass the cellphone ban.

“In the school systems where this has been implemented, it has worked,” Republican Sen. Donnie Chesteen said.

Many schools already ban the use of the devices. The legislation will require all school systems to do so. The Alabama bill leaves it up to schools on how to store the devices.

A growing number of states are moving to ban or restrict cellphones in schools. The push has been fueled by concerns that phones are a distraction in the classroom and that screen time and social media negatively impact mental health.

Several states, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, have enacted measures banning or restricting students’ use of cellphones in schools. Similar bills have been proposed in multiple statehouses across the country.

Republican Sen. Chris Elliott tried unsuccessfully to add an amendment to create an exemption for students to communicate with their parents.

“You are going to hear from parents back home if this passes, and they are not able to communicate with their child about practice being cancelled, a car breaking down,” Elliott said.