Disconnecting to Reconnect: Florida May Put Limits on Cell Phone Use During School Day

Most Florida schools prohibit phones during class time, but a new bill in the Florida Legislature could ban them for the entire school day. While some educators and parents are in favor of this, students don’t seem sold.

On Feb. 11, legislators in the Florida House of Representatives unanimously advanced Florida House Bill 949. This measure would ban the use of cell phones and other wireless devices throughout the entire school day – from morning bell to dismissal – including during lunch and in between classes. 

Filed in February by State Rep. Demi Busatta (R-District 114), this bill was proposed to curb distractions and cut back on behavioral issues caused by students’ phone usage.

“Cellphones not only cause constant distractions to a student’s focus during the school day, which impedes their ability to learn, but it also has shown to increase bullying throughout the school day,” said Busatta during a House Education Committee meeting.

This bill would also require schools to designate locations where students could use and keep their phones during the school day. If passed, the full-day ban would take effect for the 2025-26 school year. There would be exceptions for students with disabilities, English learners, medical emergencies and natural disasters.

The idea of banning phone usage during the school day, though, is nothing new. States like Louisiana, Arkansas, and South Carolina have already implemented similar legislation. 

However, HB 949 comes as an expansion to the current lay of the land in Florida schools.

HB 379, proposed by State Rep. Brad Yeager (R-District 56) in March 2023 and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis that May, bans phone use during class time but allows students to keep their phones on them, so long as they are turned off or on airplane mode. With this law, Florida became the first state to legally ban phone use in schools. 

However, some students, like Emma Muller, a sophomore at Boca Raton Community High School, say that the measure is not strictly enforced in some schools. 

“It is a rule, but some teachers go with it and some don’t…some teachers don’t care if you use your phones,” said Muller.

Breana Collazo, a sophomore at Boca Raton Community High School, voiced a similar sentiment, saying that the current law seems to be interpreted differently depending on the school and teacher.

“Some classrooms will have, when you walk in, places to put your phone – like in a stand or a box – but that’s not in every class,” said Collazo.

The new proposed extended restrictions mimic those already implemented by some school districts in Florida – like those instituted in Orange County Public Schools in Orlando. 

In July 2023, The Orange County School Board unanimously banned phones during the school day except for academic or health purposes when teacher-approved. Phones also must be silenced and stored away. Violations can result in phone confiscation, detention or even suspension. 

But as HB 949 makes its way through the Florida Legislature, local students and parents remain divided on how they feel about a full-day ban. 

“You can’t just say ‘you can’t use your phone.’ If you have an emergency, I think that’s unfair,” said Muller.

Collazo held a similar opinion, saying that she feels a full-day ban will not work simply because it won’t sit well with students.

“I don’t think if schools tried to enforce [the ban] that it would work…I don’t think there’s anything they can do. I personally wouldn’t like it,” said Collazo. 

However, some parents, like Ali Williams, a psychologist from Boca Raton, support this measure after observing the effects of screen time on her two children in pre-K and Kindergarten at Saint Andrew’s School. 

“I think [the ban] is a great thing. I see the impact of iPads on my kids – their attention goes out the door – so I don’t think that we need to have phones in school. When I grew up, we didn’t have phones in school and we did just fine,” said Williams. “I don’t think they should be searching Instagram when they’re sitting in class. That’s not time well spent.” 

Williams adds, though, that while she agrees with turning off phones during class, students should have access to their phones for safety reasons or to reach their parents. She feels that there should be parental input incorporated when the state government files such laws.

“There has to be a happy medium. I think that anything that comes from a government entity that says ‘you’re not allowed to do this with your kids’ is infringing upon a parent’s right,” said Williams. 

Some districts in South Florida – like Martin County School District – have already jumped ahead of the legislature and implemented a full-day ban that began this academic year. 

Derek Lowe, the Coordinator of Public Information and Community Relations for the Martin County School District, said that they implemented the ban to limit distractions inside and outside of the classroom as well as to decrease cyberbullying and other digital safety concerns. 

“What we did is we just took it a step further and updated our district policies to say that students cannot also use them during lunch time, in between classes or while they’re on campus outside of instructional time,” said Lowe. Students can, however, use their phones on campus after the school day for things like sports and extracurricular activities.

In Martin County Schools, if a student violates this measure, their phone is confiscated for the remainder of the school day and must be picked up by a parent or guardian – instead of the student – after dismissal. 

The success that Martin County School District has seen since implementing the full-day ban has given Florida legislators and school districts across the state hope that they have a solution to phone-related issues in school.

Lowe noted that Martin County schools received 540 cell phone referrals at the start of the school year, but after implementing the ban, this dropped to 145 by December across the county’s three high schools.

The phone ban seems to be a welcomed change by local Martin County residents. While the district expected pushback – as is typical when new measures are rolled out – it seems that parents, families and even some students are on board, Lowe explained. 

“I have heard personally from a few students…that it’s been a nice change. They feel more focused, they’re actually conversing with each other – like during lunch and in the hallways – and not everything is online, their friends aren’t being caught up in as much drama,” said Lowe. 

Last month, the Florida Senate built upon this success by proposing SB 1296, designed to test out a full-day phone ban pilot program that would extend HB 379’s current restrictions.

This pilot program would be tested in six different school districts throughout the state – in two small, two medium and two large districts. The Florida Department of Education will monitor the trial’s impacts and relay them back to the legislature by December 2026. 

While there are still students getting caught for violating phone bans, and that number may take time to hit zero, legislators hope Florida students hang up the phone and dial back into class with this new proposed legislation.