School cellphone ban dies on Senate floor

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Tuesday afternoon, the Wyoming Senate rejected a measure that would have required local school boards to craft a cellphone policy to restrict use during instructional time.

Senate File 21, “Ban on cell phone use in schools,” died in a 17-11 vote on the Senate floor. Bill co-sponsor Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said the bill would not have dictated to local districts what their policy would say, but only that the districts have one.

Citing issues like cyberbullying and increased anxiety and depression, the former teacher said the bill would include exemptions for emergencies.

Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, asked fellow senators what is happening in schools such that a teacher can’t simply take a phone away or send a student to the principal for violations. Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, said he believes it is the parents’ purview to restrict access to technology, saying the bill would “further displace the primacy of the parents.”

However, Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, voiced support for SF 21, saying that in a school district he represents, several parents insisted on their child having constant access to their phone. This caused disruption to other students, Hicks said, continuing that the school board — which

he did not identify by district — failed to stand up for the teacher who wanted restricted cellphone use.

“The Legislature has to step in when the school board fails to stand up for the teacher,” Hicks said.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, said that when it is the parents who are “causing chaos,” or in cases of “competing sets of parents,” SF 21 would offer a state law as “extra backup” for schools who wish to restrict cellphone use during instructional time.

This story was published on January 22, 2025.