Wyoming lawmaker proposes statewide cellphone ban in classrooms

CHEYENNE — A ban on cellphone use in the classroom is quickly becoming a popular policy adopted by state legislators across the country — and Wyoming could soon be one of them.

At least 18 states have passed laws or adopted policies banning or restricting the use of cellphones in the classroom, according to an Education Week analysis published in June.

A bill headed for the 2025 general session, sponsored by Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, would implement a statewide ban on cellphone use and smartwatches in the classroom during instructional time. The bill provides an exception for students who rely on their phone or smartwatch for medical purposes or as part of their Individualized Education Program.

Schuler told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle she usually avoids proposing any legislation that interferes with local control.

However, several teachers and school district administrators told her they’ve faced backlash from parents when implementing any policy restricting phone use in the classroom, Schuler said.

“If it was just one district, that would be one thing, but it was a number of them,” Schuler said. “And they said, ‘We need some help.’”

One teacher told Schuler that a couple of parents pulled their child out of school because of the district’s cellphone policy.

“They said, ‘If my son or daughter can’t use their phone all day long, every minute they want it, then I don’t want them in public school,’” Schuler said. “That seems crazy to me.”

Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, who is one of the bill’s three cosponsors, said he tended to disagree with heavy-handed policies, such as this one, that take away control from local school districts.

But this is a critical issue growing across the state that has to be addressed, he said.

As a member of the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Education Committee, Brown said he’s seen cellphone use affect all grade levels, including elementary school, and it’s “taking away from the learning environment.”

“Making it a state law sends this message that Wyoming wants to protect our children,” Brown said. “We’re not going to give the local school districts the opportunity to not put this into place, because we feel that strongly about it. … It’s not just a local school district issue anymore.”

As the Wyoming Legislature gets ready to welcome a new, incoming governing body, Schuler and Brown said they’re unsure of whether the bill will make it all the way through. Brown said he could say that about any bill, though. It’s simply a matter of whether lawmakers see it as a good idea.

“The states that have done this seem to have seen lots of really positive things come out of it,” Schuler said. “If we can get (this bill) through, I’m tickled pink.”

Cellphone ban in Laramie County School District #1

Laramie County School District 1 has an existing board policy that bans cellphone use during instructional time, according to LCSD1 Superintendent Stephen Newton. The policy contains exceptions for special circumstances, such as emergencies or specific exemptions for qualified individuals.

“Laramie County School District #1 recognizes the vital importance of protecting instructional time. Certainly, cellphones can distract and impede students from their learning,” Newton said in an emailed statement. “Maintaining focus and concentration without distraction during instruction is a fundamental requirement in preserving high quality classrooms.”

Despite having this policy, concerned parents have brought up the issue of cellphone use in the classrooms during LCSD1 board meetings.

During one board meeting in August, Mason Magagna asked trustees to remove cellphones and devices from the classroom, saying students were showing each other “inappropriate materials.”

Trustee Christy Klaassen said during the meeting that Magagna was the third or fourth person to bring up the issue of cellphone use to the board this year.

“We have a ‘no cellphone’ policy in this district,” Klaassen said. “And if it’s not being enforced, I don’t know why … but talk to your principals.”

During another board meeting in September, Newton said his No. 1 focus for the school district is to maximize instructional time in the classroom. A particular area of distraction that’s recently gained traction in public discussion, he said, is cellphone use.

“I know that it’s a distraction for all of us. I have to resist the urge to check my phone at all times, day or night, and our kids are no exception to that,” Newton said. “It does distract us, and it does take away our concentration.”

A Pew Research article published in June reported that 72% of U.S. high school teachers said cellphone use is a “major problem in the classroom.” A majority of K-12 teachers in the U.S. said their school or district adopted some type of cellphone policy, but 30% of teachers said it’s “very or somewhat difficult to enforce.” This was found to be especially true for high school educators, according to the article.

Is it necessary?

Some studies show there’s a negative impact from smartphones on student learning, although data is limited as researchers continue to explore this realm of technology and its impact on student academics.

A 2021 article published in ScienceDirect, an international source of medical and scientific research, found that smartphone use negatively impacted a student’s ability to learn efficiently. The article contained the results of 44 studies performed on a total of 147,000 students across 16 countries, including the United States.

Researchers concluded that smartphone addiction negatively impacted students’ learning and overall academic performance, as well as their skills and cognitive abilities.

However, many parents against cellphone bans argue they need to be in contact with their child during school, especially in the case of an emergency.

In early November, several Wyoming high schools, including Cheyenne’s South and East high schools, went into lockdown after receiving bomb threats.

For Cheyenne East, that was its third lockdown of the semester.

“There’s a very valid reason to have these cellphones in the school, especially with what you’ve seen with the swatting calls lately,” Brown said, referring to false 911 calls that send a school into lockdown. “Those are areas where parents are going to look at this and say, ‘I want my kid to have their cellphone at the school.’”

This story was published on December 6, 2024.