California Governor Gavin Newsom has promised to “get smartphones out of schools.”
“I look forward to working with the Legislature to limit smartphone use during the school day. When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on learning, not screens,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Newsom plans to work with the California Legislature to pass the restrictions by August, Politico First report. This would bring California into line with other states that already have strict restrictions on smartphone use in schools. The move could also be particularly meaningful for California, the most populous state in the United States and home to Silicon Valley.
“They should focus on learning, not the screen.”
Momentum is building nationwide to protect children from the potential harms of smartphones and social media, from cyberbullying to body image issues. Schools have been a battleground on the issue, with concerns growing about distracted students using mobile phones in class.
In 2019, Newsom signed legislation authorizing school districts to limit or outright ban smartphone use by students during school hours. Newsom aims to move forward with new legislation that would establish statewide restrictions.
Newsom also signed a law in 2022 urging social media companies to strengthen protections for underage users, including limiting the amount of young people’s data they collect and sell. Last year, he wrote a letter urging the tech industry to drop a lawsuit challenging the legislation. “It’s time for the tech industry to stop standing in the way of vital protections for our children and teens and start working with us to keep our kids safe,” he wrote.
The governor’s new call to action on Tuesday comes after the U.S. surgeon general asked Congress on Monday to impose warning labels on social media platforms. “It’s time to ask the surgeon general to put warning labels on social media platforms about the significant harm they pose to adolescents’ mental health,” Vivek H. Murthy said in New York Times.
While Congress is deadlocked, states and school districts have taken action of their own. Florida and Indiana already have laws restricting smartphone use. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to enact a policy banning cell phone and social media use by students throughout the school day.
