Education Committee<\/a> and now proceeds to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n\u201cI recognize that changes comes slowly,\u201d Muratsuchi said.<\/p>\n
A longtime proponent of restricting cellphone use in schools, Muratsuchi argued smartphones distract and undermine education. At least 10 states, including New York and Texas, have enacted such bans.<\/p>\n
Jose Torres, deputy executive director of TechNet, said his trade association believes in the power of technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis approach is not about limiting technology,\u201d he said of Muratsuchi\u2019s bill. \u201cIt\u2019s about using it thoughtfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bill faced some opposition. Dorothy Johnson, a legislative advocate with the Association of California School Administrators, didn\u2019t question the damage smartphones can cause. However, she pointed to the existing law, passed in 2024, that requires schools to enact a policy by July 1 about limiting or prohibiting smartphone use.<\/p>\n
Muratsuchi\u2019s bill would eliminate that 2024 law, replacing it with the new statewide prohibition.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s making them do a double-take,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cWhat is that saying \u2014 just kidding?\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson also asked for a delay in implementation, if the bill did move forward. It currently calls for the prohibition to become effective July 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Darshana Patel, a San Diego Democrat and committee chair, noted that she served on a local school board before her legislative stint. She agreed with Muratsuchi on the negatives smartphones bring into the classroom \u2014 distractions and \u201cdoomscrolling.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, they also have an instructional purpose, she added. For example, journalism students use them to record voice memos when conducting interviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has now become a handheld computer that has very important purposes,\u201d Patel said.<\/p>\n
A co-author of the bill, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal \u2014 a Long Beach Democrat \u2014 said he remained mindful of how state policy can affect families. His district includes islands. Some parents spend their working days on boats and rely on smartphones to communicate with their children.<\/p>\n
Those needs must be weighed against the positives that cellphone prohibitions bring, he added. He spoke with a local school board member that day, who told him Agoura High School has seen bullying drop by two-thirds since it implemented a ban. Additionally, daily attendance and student performance have risen.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven within that community, the naysayers are now believers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Like Patel, Assemblymember Josh Hoover, a Folsom Republican and bill co-author, has served on a school board. In fact, Hoover pointed to a 2019 law written by Muratsuchi he said enabled his board to push for a smartphone prohibition.<\/p>\n
That law enabled school boards to create policy limiting or prohibiting smartphone use by students.<\/p>\n
Once elected to the Legislature, Hoover wrote the 2024 law Johnson mentioned that required school boards to make policies limiting or banning smartphones.<\/p>\n
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