EL CERRITO, Calif. – On September 23, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation restricting cell phone use in schools. The law requires school districts to implement restrictions by July 1, 2026.
The signing of the bill, Assembly Bill 3216, marks the end of a five-year period in which California’s Democratic governor would restrict the use of phones in classrooms to protect students from learning disruptions and psychological problems associated with smartphones and social media. This was done through promotion.
In 2019, Newsom signed AB 272, giving California school districts the power to restrict the use of smartphones by students while in school. Since then, he has been working toward tighter restrictions.
Over the summer, Newsom sent a letter to all public school districts in California urging them to start implementing restrictions before the law legally mandates them.
“There is no reason for schools to wait as I work with the Legislature to further restrict student smartphone use on campus,” Newsom said in the letter. “As we begin the new school year, we urge all school districts to take immediate action to limit smartphone use on campus.”
Assembly Bill 3216 cites evidence of a correlation between smartphones and a variety of mental health concerns, including lower test scores, difficulty concentrating, and anxiety and depression as the basis for mandating the restrictions. The bill would require all public school districts, charter schools, and county departments of education to adopt and update state-approved cell phone restriction policies every five years.
“We know that excessive smartphone use causes anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, but we have the authority to intervene,” Newsom said after signing the bill. told the residents. “This new law will ensure that when students are in school, they can focus on their academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not on screens.”
Newsom is not alone in recognizing the huge role phones play in students’ lives. Teachers across California are paying close attention to how students are using cell phones in the classroom.
“The phone is a machine designed to take all of your attention, and it’s very good at that,” said Eric Jepson, an AP English teacher at El Cerrito High School. “In my classes, we have lessons where people read books and talk to each other. It’s about human connection, and a phone can’t help with that.”
Jepson’s feelings are echoed by other teachers at El Cerrito High School. Mathematics teacher Melisha Matlock commented on the role phones play in the classroom, saying she asks students to return their phones at the start of each class to minimize distractions.
“I remember when students first started bringing cell phones to school,” Matlock said. “We thought we could use them as teaching tools, but they were just a distraction. Students were using them as calculators and other resources, but slowly but surely they were replacing those tools. I started leaning towards what I wanted to see.”
Although AB 727 gives school districts the authority to set district-wide smartphone restrictions, El Cerrito High School’s phone policy is determined at the classroom level, with each teacher determining their own policy with varying success.
“My experience as a teacher and reading articles on the subject is that phone policies only work at least at the school level,” Jepson said. “Policies at the classroom level don’t work very well.”
Even though the new law calls for stricter restrictions, both Jepson and Matlock doubt the bill could bring significant changes to schools. “I’m a little skeptical that the state has the authority to enforce this,” Jepson said.
“If you respect the policies that the government has set out, ideally they should work, whether you vote for them or not,” Matlock said. “Realistically, that’s not always the case. There will still be people who are slow to rejoin or rebel.”
