Teachers, parents love Ga. cellphone ban. Now lawmakers turn to high schools.
As Georgia lawmakers consider expanding the school cellphone ban to high schools, a growing body of research shows strong support for the move.
State Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, who sponsored a K-8 cellphone ban last year, called it “life-changing” for students — which is why he’s ready to expand to grades 9-12. House Bill 1009 got its first vote of approval from a House subcommittee this week.
Several studies and surveys have come out in the past year that highlight positive results from cellphone bans in Georgia and nearby states. They include:
- A study of a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in one of Florida’s largest districts that found student test scores improved, chronic absenteeism went down, and — after an initial spike in the first year — the number of suspensions went down. This study is often cited by cellphone ban enthusiasts in Georgia.
- Emory researchers polled Georgia parents and found that more than two-thirds support expanding the state’s ban to high schools.
- Researchers at Georgia Southern University found that 93% of educators in the state support the cellphone bans. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators recently surveyed its members and got similar results.
But there are still issues with cellphone bans that researchers say should be taken into account, like parents’ concerns about emergency communication plans and teachers’ concerns that enforcement could become another responsibility for them.
So far, there isn’t any long-term clinical research that can definitively say whether cellphone bans improve students’ mental health, said Tim Pressley, a researcher at Christopher Newport University who co-authored a review of the available literature on cellphone bans in January.
“With most of these studies, when we’re looking at the mental health, it really kind of shifts back to behavioral improvements rather than actually, truly looking at the clinical anxiety or depression, anything like that,” he said.
Other studies have suggested cellphone bans can increase separation anxiety for students or that the bans reduced cellphone use during the school day but did not translate to more sleep or improved mental health. Although more rigorous research is needed, the reviews in Georgia are positive, said Julie Gazmararian, a professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
“Through our focus groups, kids are saying they’re talking to kids that they’ve never talked to before,” she said, echoing what lawmakers and school administrators say is the biggest change: Schools are loud again.
H.B. 1009 would go into effect in 2027 and includes an exception for students in dual enrollment, work-based learning and apprenticeship programs. Hilton is optimistic the bill will pass the Legislature this year.
“I think all of the adults in the room have kind of woken up to the fact that the pendulum has swung too far one way,” he said this week. “Kids, in fact, do not learn when they’re on their cellphone in class.”
About the Author
Cassidy Alexander covers Georgia education issues for the AJC. She previously covered education for The Daytona Beach News-Journal, and was named Florida's Outstanding New Journalist of the Year.
