by Daniel Trotta
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill into law that would require schools to limit or ban the use of smartphones amid growing consensus that excessive use can increase the risk of mental illness and adversely affect the ability to learn.
After Florida banned phones in the classroom in 2023, thirteen other states this year have banned cellphones in school or recommended local educators do so, according to Education Week.
California, with about 5.9 million public school students, has followed its own Los Angeles County, whose school board banned smartphones for its 429,000 students in June.
That same month, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for social media platforms to have the same warning labels as cigarette packages, and compared the problem to a mental health emergency.
Murthy cited a study published in the medical journal JAMA that showed teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media may be at higher risk for mental illness, while he cited a Gallup survey that showed the average teen spends 4.8 hours a day on social media.
California’s bill, which passed 76-0 in the state Assembly and 38-1 in the Senate, would require school boards or other governing bodies to develop a policy limiting or prohibiting smartphone use by students on campus by July 1, 2026, and to update the policy every five years.
“We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression and other mental health problems — but we have the power to intervene. This new law will help students focus on academics, social development and the world in front of them, not on screens,” Newsom said in a statement.
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