{"id":191588,"date":"2025-04-08T20:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T01:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=191588"},"modified":"2025-04-08T20:55:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T01:55:10","slug":"new-bill-would-ban-cell-phones-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2025\/04\/08\/new-bill-would-ban-cell-phones-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"New bill would ban cell phones in schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

VW independent staff\/submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COLUMBUS \u2013 Cell phone use in Ohio schools could become history, if a new Senate Bill gains approval in the Ohio Statehouse. Governor Mike DeWine hosted a press conference Tuesday in support of legislation that would ban the use of cell phones in public schools in Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsored by Senator Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township), Senate Bill 158<\/a> incorporates language first introduced by DeWine in his proposed budget, prohibiting student use of cell phones during the school day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that we need to get cell phones out of our classrooms,\u201d DeWine said. \u201cThe constant distraction of cell phones makes it nearly impossible for students to focus and learn. Not only do they negatively impact student performance, but they can also be harmful to kids\u2019 mental and emotional health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Shown from left to right are Senator Jane Timken, Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine and Governor Mike DeWine. Photo submitted<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIn schools that have already banned phones, we\u2019ve heard from teachers, administrators, and parents who say the results have been remarkable,\u201d he continued. \u201cStudent engagement has improved, grades are better and socialization is improving. It\u2019s rare that one change can have such a positive difference. That\u2019s why it\u2019s time to make Ohio schools phone free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SB 158 will expedite the implementation process \u2013 allowing schools time over the summer to update their policies to prohibit student use of cell phones in time for the start of the 2025-2026 school year this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill includes exceptions for students using a cell phone for a documented purpose as part of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or for monitoring a health concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen phones are within reach, our children are constantly wondering, \u2018What am I missing? What notification did I miss?\u2019 \u2013 this does not provide for a conducive learning environment, and also has damaging social effects,\u201d Timken said. \u201cThis legislation is a common sense approach to unplug our children from the constant distractions that they have in the classroom. It will reduce those distractions and will facilitate the building of the interpersonal relationships that are so vital to human development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is something where Ohio is taking the lead,\u201d said Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware), who worked on legislation last year\u00a0requiring schools to implement policies regarding the use of cell phones. \u00a0\u201cWe started the work last year with House Bill 250 to get cell phones out of our classrooms. I believe this is all a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Governor DeWine was also joined for the press conference by Dublin City Schools Superintendent Dr. John Marschhausen, whose district has been a leader in the push to remove cell phones from classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had near-unanimous support from our parents for banning cell phones from our schools,\u201d said Dr.  Marschhausen. \u201cAs we’ve had meetings recently, our Business Advisory Council has talked about the importance of graduating students who can work and be successful without having a device in their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis legislation also opens up conversations with moms and dads, with grandmas and grandpas, because what we do in school from 7:30 to 2:30 isn’t enough,\u201d Dr.  Marschhausen added. \u201cMaking sure our students are safe on their phones takes all of us working together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Governor was also joined by Tina Husted, former Second Lady of Ohio and a champion for protecting children online. As Second Lady, Husted was a key supporter of Braden\u2019s Law<\/a>, which makes sexual extortion a felony offense in Ohio. Signed by Governor DeWine earlier this year<\/a>, Braden\u2019s Law, which was named after a 15-year-old boy from central Ohio who took his life after being victimized in a financial \u201csextortion\u201d scam, officially takes effect Wednesday, April 9, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to highlighting the work done to make Braden\u2019s Law a reality, Husted discussed strategies parents can use to be more aware of what their children are doing on their phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnline safety for our children is one of the most critical issues of our time. There have been accounts of \u2018sextortion\u2019 and online bullying which, at times, have resulted in a loss of life,\u201d Husted said. \u201cOver 90 percent of people, including our children, are using smartphones. As a parent and an athletic coach, I have witnessed firsthand the dangers that online apps and social media can have to young children, as well to as to developing teens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Husted suggested serval steps parents can take to protect their child\u2019s online health, including setting up parental restrictions, limiting a child\u2019s activity on their device to less than three hours per day, and not letting a child sleep with their phone, among other suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are also new apps being developed that parents can download that monitor a child\u2019s phone usage for threats and send alerts when there is harmful or risky activity,\u201d Husted added. \u201cMost importantly, talk to your children. Make sure they know that they can come to you if they feel uncertain or threatened by anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VW independent staff\/submitted information COLUMBUS \u2013 Cell phone use in Ohio schools could become history, if a new Senate Bill gains approval in the Ohio Statehouse. Governor Mike DeWine hosted a press conference Tuesday in support of legislation that would ban the use of cell phones in public schools in Ohio. Sponsored by Senator Jane […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-04 01:09:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191588"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":191591,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191588\/revisions\/191591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}