June 18, 2025 |Education, LCTV News, Legislation, News, State of MA, Youth

Senator Crighton Sponsors Bill to Adopt Bell to Bell Cell Phone Bans in Schools

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Legislature hears testimony on phone free school legislation

On Tuesday, Senator Brendan Crighton offered testimony before the Joint Committee on Education in support of S.323, legislation he filed that would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to issue guidance to school districts on how to implement a bell-to-bell cell phone use ban and require schools to enact these bans. Additionally, this bill would include restrictions that align with student development, and provide detailed procedures for the steps of collection, isolation, and return of the banned personal electronic devices.

In his written testimony, Senator Crighton emphasized the contrast between typical classroom settings before and after the introduction of the smartphone in 2007. Before smartphones, students would be able to more directly focus on their teachers and the work in front of them. Current reality provides a stark contrast, where students are encapsulated by their devices, with their phones buzzing with calls, texts, and notifications from social media accounts. He highlighted how students are distracted by this constant stream of input, in addition to the mental health challenges that this technology can unleash on them. Senator Crighton was inspired to file this legislation based on feedback from community members. After speaking with parents, teachers, and coalitions including the Becca Schmill Foundation and the Massachusetts Coalition for Phone Free Schools, it became abundantly clear that there is strong support to enact this change.

“All this evidence clearly points to one conclusion: we must take decisive action to ban the use of cell phones in school by students. Only sustained, daylong separation from smartphones, also known as a ‘bell-to-bell’ ban, is sufficient to prevent these academic and mental health impacts.”

Senator Brendan Crighton

States across the country, including New York, Arizona, Oklahoma, and South Carolina have enacted phone free school bans. Momentum for this movement continues to grow, as enactment of these policies prove to have overwhelmingly positive results.

S.323, along with 40 other bills in the category of school climate and safety, will be subject to a vote of the Committee members to determine if they receive a favorable report to move forward in the legislative process. This topic is top of mind for many elected officials in Massachusetts, as Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Senator Cyr, Senator Velis, and Senator O’Connor are a few of the many lawmakers who have also filed legislation regarding limits or bans on cell phones in schools.

The above press release was submitted to us by the office of Senator Brendan Crighton.