Starting next school year, students across Kansas won’t be able to use their cellphones at school after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly signed the ban into law Thursday.

The bipartisan goal to get rid of cellphones in K-12 schools was announced in January at the beginning of the legislative session.

But the extent of that ban — including whether it should apply to public and private schools or even serve as a suggestion rather than a mandate — was debated throughout the session.

The version that advanced to the governor, House Bill 2299, applies to both public and private schools.

Some education advocates urged the Legislature to leave the decision to local school boards. Kelly said Thursday she’s a fan of local control, but added: “When our students’ mental health and academic performance are on the line, I felt strongly that a statewide solution was best.”

Kelly said the law will strengthen Kansas children and the education system. She’s worried about declining mental health for young people, and said much of it can be linked to cellphones and social media.

The law requires school officials to prohibit students from using all personal electronic communication devices, including phones, tablets, computers, smart watches or wireless headphones, during the school day. They will still be able to use school-issued devices.

Students will have to power off and store their devices in a secure location, like their car or locker, according to the law. Whether a student is allowed to use their devices at school-sponsored events that happen outside of regular school hours is still up to each district. If a student has an individualized education program or medical need that requires a device, they will be exempt from the ban.

Districts will have to outline how they plan to enforce the new policy and discipline a student that doesn’t comply.

Enrique Ponce, a sophomore at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, doesn’t think students will comply with the ban. Blue Valley already has a rule that cellphones must be silent and stored away. He told Kansas Reflector in an interview in January that in spite of the strict ban, students will want to break the rule.

Sens. Chase Blasi, an Andale Republican and Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, who championed the ban, said that while the law states the devices must be stored in an inaccessible location like a car or locker, having the device shut off and in a backpack works, too.

After other states passed a similar ban, some districts had to purchase lockboxes to store the devices. The Kansas law doesn’t allocate any money to districts to enforce the ban.

Blasi said he thinks most districts can ask students to put their devices in lockers, and have the option to use lockboxes if they don’t have lockers. Sykes didn’t respond directly when asked how the districts might purchase the lockboxes, but said: “I think most students have backpacks, so if they don’t have a car or a locker they can have it turned off and put in a backpack.”

Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Democrat from Overland Park running for governor, was one of four senators to vote against the bill.

“Over 90% of Kansas students are already in districts with policies in place, yet this new law overrides local control, imposes an unfunded mandate, and puts a burden on teachers without providing the necessary resources,” Holscher said in a statement. “Unfortunately, school leaders were ignored during the legislative process.”

Blasi acknowledged concerns about students wanting to call their parents during an emergency.

“When an event happens students tend to reach out to their parents naturally, in the moment of panic,” Blasi said. “Unfortunately parents flock to the school, which causes gridlock and blocks emergency personnel from getting to the school to address the situation.”

Bell-to-bell bans are gaining popularity. Florida was the first to implement the ban, and after a period of increased suspensions for using phones at school when the ban first took effect, test scores increased and there were fewer unexcused absences.

Kelly said she looks forward to the Kansas ban becoming a success story — especially in addressing the growing mental health crisis.

In her only non-bill related comment of the signing, Kelly asked the House to allocate money to mental health programs in schools after the Senate cut $16 million from the services in their budget.

The Senate’s budget hasn’t been heard by the House yet.

“This cellphone ban is a major step toward addressing the mental health crisis amongst our young Kansans,” Kelly said. “Let me be clear, it is only one step. We must do more.”

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Story via Kansas Reflector