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Onboarding Presentation

Agenda

• The Problem
• What is a Phone-Free School?
• Best Practice Checklist
• Legislative Efforts
• Model Legislation
• Advocacy
• Resources and Ongoing Support
• Q&A

“By next September, I think we’re going to have the great majority of schools in the United States phone-free.”

Jonathan Haidt (12/2024)

The Problem

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said “Schools should ensure that classroom learning and social time are phone-free experiences.” I couldn’t agree more.

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Studies have found that:

• 97% of students use phones during the school day for an average of 43 minutes.
• Those 43 minutes are spent on social media, YouTube and gaming.
• One third of teens report being exposed to pornography at school.
• 35% of teens admit to using their phone to cheat.
• 65% of students report being distracted by digital devices in class.

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In 2017, the Brain Drain Study found that:

• The mere presence of a cell phone, even when it is silenced and stored out of sight, reduces cognitive capacity.
• Students performed best when the phone was in a separate room.
• They found this to be important when taking tests but even more crucial when learning something new.

The Problem - Teacher’s Perspective

The majority of teachers want phones out of the classroom. In 2024, the National Education Association conducted a poll that identified:

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• 83% of the members support prohibiting cell phone and personal device use during the entire school day, from the first bell to the last bell.

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• Over 90% of educators feel student’s mental health is a serious issue at their school and a majority also say there has been a significant increase in concerns related to student mental health in the past few years.

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• 72% of U.S. high school teachers say cell phone distraction is a major problem in the classroom. And that is backed by research.

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What is a Phone-Free School?

Phone-Free School Policy: First bell to last bell policy that requires all personal electronic devices (cell phones, smartwatches, earbuds, AirPods, fitness trackers and Bluetooth connected headphones, AI glasses etc.) to be securely locked away and inaccessible for the entire school day.

Phone-Free Schools Checklist

• Feature 1. Require for all schools
• Feature 2. Students physically separated from all personal devices
• Feature 3. Students have 6-7 hours of the school day to focus on their teachers and their fellow students
• Feature 4. Stop schools from requiring smartphones and social media use
• Feature 5. Include two important exceptions

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This best practice definition of a phone-free school policy as defined by the Phone-Free Schools Movement and outlined in the Phone and Social Media Free School model bill drafted by the Becca Schmill Foundation:

Feature 1. Require all schools in the state to comply

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Why this is important:

• This eliminates any confusion across districts, sets a norm for an entire community, and allows students to relax, knowing that they will not be missing activity from friends at other schools. It also sets a strong policy now, while the issue has legislators' attention.

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This best practice definition of a phone-free school policy as defined by the Phone-Free Schools Movement and outlined in the Phone and Social Media Free School model bill drafted by the Becca Schmill Foundation:

Feature 2. Physically separate students from all personal devices

Why this is important:

• The regular use of devices in school is a distraction to students, whether a device is a smartphone or is just used to receive text messages. Young people receive an average of 237 notifications everyday. Free from devices, kids are able to spend more time focusing on teachers and their fellow peers.

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This best practice definition of a phone-free school policy as defined by the Phone-Free Schools Movement and outlined in the Phone and Social Media Free School model bill drafted by the Becca Schmill Foundation:

Feature 3. Give students the full 6-7 hours of the school day to focus on what’s important

Why this is important:

• Social media pulls kids into constant anxiety-producing drama. Kids in phone-free schools sometimes say that after they turn in their phones, it takes a little while for them to forget the drama and turn their attention fully to what’s happening around them. But if the drama is refreshed every 50 minutes, between classes, then many students will spend very little of the school day being fully present.

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This best practice definition of a phone-free school policy as defined by the Phone-Free Schools Movement and outlined in the Phone and Social Media Free School model bill drafted by the Becca Schmill Foundation:

Feature 4. Stop schools from requiring smartphones and social media use.

Why this is important:

• Schools should not use social media as a primary communications tool, to allow parents the freedom to make individual choices about whether or not to use social media, both for themselves and their kids.

This best practice definition of a phone-free school policy as defined by the Phone-Free Schools Movement and outlined in the Phone and Social Media Free School model bill drafted by the Becca Schmill Foundation:

Feature 5. Include two important exceptions.

This best practice definition of a phone-free school policy as defined by the Phone-Free Schools Movement and outlined in the Phone and Social Media Free School model bill drafted by the Becca Schmill Foundation:

Include:

• Medical needs
• IEP needs specific to a phone

Do not Include:

• Emergencies
• Educational purposes

Current Legislative Efforts

Source: https://www.afterbabel.com/p/how-to-and-how-not-to-mandate-phone - January 30, 2025

Phone-Free Schools Legislation Shortcomings

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Common faults in legislation:

• Class time only
• Only includes phones and not other personal devices such as bluetooth headphones/airpods
• Exceptions for emergencies
• Exceptions for educational purposes
• Pilot program

Model Legislation

The Anxious Generation Team

Collaboration Team:

Link to the model bill: https://bit.ly/PhoneFreeModel

Neely Center for Ethical Leadership

Advocacy - Connect with others in your community!

Other Concerned Citizens

Healthcare Professionals

Advocacy - Find Allies and Champions with Influence

• Reach out to different government agencies with related missions (cast a wide net)
• Governor’s Office
• AG Office
• Health Dept and State Public Health Association
• Human Rights Commission
• Dept of Education

• Reach out to other stakeholder organizations
• Police & Law Enforcement Associations
• Teachers Union, Principals Association, Superintendent Association, School Board Association
• Local AAP Chapter, School Nurses Association

Advocacy - Reaching Out To Legislators

• Find out if a bill has already been introduced in your state (www.legiscan.com)
• If yes:
• Review bill comparing to best practices checklist
• Request meeting with lead sponsor (or their staff)
• Share your personal story (if applicable)
• Be prepared to share your concerns (if applicable)
• Always be polite and follow up with a thank you email
• If the lead sponsor is not open to amending the bill, try and find another legislator

Advocacy - Reaching Out To Legislators

If no bill has been introduced, start looking for a lead sponsor for the Model Legislation.

• Request meetings with:
• Your district Senator and Representative (or staff)
• Legislators who have shown an interest in the topic in the past
• The chair(s) of the Education Committee
• For each meeting:
• Email or bring a one pager/briefing doc for staff
• Ideally, recruit 2+ other advocates to join the meeting (but not ne

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Advocacy - Testimony

After a bill is introduced it is assigned to a committee

• Committee hearing testimony
• Oral (often a time limit)
• Written
• Recruit stakeholders to do the same:
• Medical and Mental Health Professionals
• School Administrator and Teachers
• Someone with a personal story
• SRO/Police/Security
• Experts (they do not need to be in your state!)

Resources

• Letter of Support
• Briefing Document
• Flyers/Cards
• After Babel Article
• More

National Community Support Letter

Link to MA

Link to VT

Link to KS�Link to National

Sample Briefing Document

Link to MA

Link to VT

Link to KS

Templates for Flyers/Cards, Social Media Posts and Letters

Front

Back

Letter Templates for contacting friends/family, local community groups, legislators, principals, superintendents, healthcare professionals, etc!

After Babel Article by Deb Schmill

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How to (and How NOT to) Mandate Phone-Free Schools

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Children need a break from exposure to online and digital products. Many states are now tackling this issue, but not all efforts tackle the issue effectively. Many schools have well-meaning policies that don’t fully solve the problem. The Becca Schmill Foundation recommends a strong state-wide “bell to bell” phone separation policy, and in consultation with Fairplay, the USC Neely Center, and the Phone-Free Schools Movement, we have developed model state legislation to help these efforts.

Phone-Free Schools Movement Toolkits

Phone-Free Schools Movement |

Phone-Free Schools Movement Research Infographic

Books

Podcasts

Film