DUBLIN, Ohio — Amid a statewide effort to crack down on the use of cell phones in schools, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House 250 bill into law on Wednesday.
“Our school children currently face countless distractions every day from the devices in their pockets,” said DeWine in a statement. “By limiting these distractions, we will reestablish the opportunity for students across Ohio to immerse themselves in their classwork, learn from their teachers, and create lifelong memories with their closest friends.”
Wednesday's bill signing ceremony was held at Karrer Middle School in Dublin with the following officials also in attendance:
- Lt. Governor Jon Husted
- State Senator Anthony Brenner (R-Delaware)
- State Representative Tracey Richardson (R-Marysville)
- Superintendent Dr. John Marschhausen, Dublin City Schools
“I talk to teachers and they tell me that when there are cell phones even near the student, it’s a real distraction," Gov. DeWine told 3News' Maureen Kyle in a recent interview.
You can read the full text for House Bill 250 by exploring the document below...
HB 250 requires that all districts place an emphasis on limiting cell phone use and reducing cell phone-related distractions in classrooms. It also includes exceptions for students who require a cell phone to monitor a health concern or for student learning as determined by school officials.
“Local school districts will create the policies that work best in their environments and for their students, but the core mission of this bill is clear: minimize screen time during school time,” DeWine added. “Not only is this time precious for the educational development of our children, but we also have a responsibility to safeguard our kids from the nonstop barrage of alerts from the internet and social media that have been proven to be damaging to their mental health.”
The bill passed unanimously in both houses of the Ohio General Assembly.
Schools in Ohio will be required to adopt their cell phone policies no later than July 2025, just ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Board of Education voted to approve their new cell phone policy which was included in the tentative contract agreement with the Cleveland Teachers Union.
If the CTU approves the contract, there will be a universal district cellphone policy beginning next school year. Personal devices will be collected or placed in secured pouches when students arrive, but the collection and storage process may vary from school to school.
Some districts have already implemented their own policies that limit cell phones -- including Akron Public Schools where students are required to put their devices into a secured pouch.
The Avon Lake School District has some work to do to come up with a policy, especially after officials experienced firsthand how student cell phone use impacted an emergency situation at one of their schools.
On Tuesday, there was a soft lockdown of Avon Lake High School due to an anonymous call threatening violence. Superintendent Joelle Magyar says officials barricaded entrances and kept students in lockdown until police determined the threat was not credible.
However, there was an issue with students having cell phones.
"When we have kids who have phones that are texting their parents that they're saying they're in lockdown," Magyar explained. "The kids don't have a lot of information when they're in lockdown, so their parents are making assumptions about what's going on in school rather than letting us deal with the situation and try to get the communication out ahead of time."
Magyar says the district plans to engage the community in coming up with a cell phone policy.
"As you can imagine, people have very strong feelings about whether or not kids should have phones in schools and an incident like yesterday (Tuesday) just raises that conversation to a higher level," she added.