BOSTON — Senator Brendan Crighton appeared before the Joint Committee on Education on June 17 to sponsor a bill for the ban of cellphones in public schools state-wide.
The premises of the bill originate from personal concern for his two children, ages five and nine, said Crighton.
“Even as an adult I am constantly distracted by my phone,” he said. “During school, kids should be seeing kids and paying attention to teachers.”
In his written testimony, Crighton notes a stark contrast between typical classroom settings before and after the introduction of the smartphone in 2007.
He later commented on the larger health challenges technology presents for the young population, raising a necessity, at state level, to enact change.
“Tech companies have figured out how to make the products effective for them, but certainly harmful for our kids,” he said.
As information is now continuously buzzing through their devices, it is distracting students from their learning experience.
“Only sustained, daylong separation from smartphones is sufficient to prevent these academic and mental health impacts,” Crighton concluded in his written testimony.
But opponents to the bill say that letting children keep their cellphones in school is a matter of ensuring their safety.
“There is really no evidence showing that having cellphones in school will make them any safer,” Crighton said.
Banning cellphones in schools is gaining popularity, but Massachusetts still lags behind.
As of January 2025, at least nine states have passed state-wide policies that ban or restrict cellphone use in schools, including New York, Arizona, Louisiana and South Carolina.
Crighton’s Bill S.323 is a first in Massachusetts, he said.
Crighton said “Each school district shall have a comprehensive policy to prohibit student access to personal electronic devices during the school day.”
It will be subject to a vote of the Committee members to decide whether to move forward with the legislative process for phone-free schools in Massachusetts.
