NEW LAW TO BAN OR RESTRICT SMARTPHONES IN SCHOOL – California governor signs new bill into law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that requires schools to limit or ban the use of smartphones, amid a growing consensus that excess usage can increase the risk of mental illness and impair learning.
Thirteen other states this year have banned or restricted cell phones in school or recommended local educators do so, after Florida led the way by banning phones in class in 2023, according to Education Week.
California, with nearly 5.9 million public school students, has followed the lead of its own Los Angeles County, whose school board banned smartphones for its 429,000 students in June. That same month U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on social media platforms, akin to those on cigarette packages, likening the problem to a mental health emergency.
Murthy cited the medical journal JAMA showing adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media may be at heightened risk of mental illness, while referring to a showing the average teen spends 4.8 hours per day on social media.
