Education Committee hears proposal to restrict cell phones in schools
By Fred Knapp , Senior Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
Feb. 4, 2025, 5 p.m. ·

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A proposal to require schools to have policies restricting cellphones drew widespread support, but also confusion over details, at an Education Committee hearing Tuesday.
Sen. Rita Sanders introduced the cell phone bill, LB140, for Gov. Jim Pillen. It would require schools to adopt policies to prohibit cellphone use on school property or at school functions. But it would also allow broad exceptions, including when authorized by individual teachers or school boards.
Sanders said she’s trying to address a problem that’s hurting students.
“We are all acutely aware of how distracting our cellphones can be, but many of us may not fully grasp the extent of which this distraction impacts our schools and, more importantly, our children's futures. Recent studies have shown a clear correlation between increased phone usage and lower academic performance,” Sanders said.
Attorney General Mike Hilgers said as a parent, he supports the bill.
“As a father of four -- my oldest is 13 -- she does not have a smartphone, and I'm the bad guy currently. So if I could be the bad guy for all the all the kids the state of Nebraska, I’d be happy to do that,” Hilgers said.
Sen. Jana Hughes asked if prohibiting cell phone use at school activities, such as basketball games, could really be enforced. Hilgers conceded that was unlikely, and said the bill could be amended.
Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, said teachers support the proposal, but the biggest problem could actually be parents.
“Unfortunately, there's a lot of parents who say they get behind it, but they always find a reason why their use of the device with their kid is okay, and oftentimes it's things like, I just want to know what my kid wants for dinner, and then they're upset with us because we won't let the kid answer that text,” Royers said.
Tyler Mosher, a senior at Elkhorn South high school, said addiction to social media can create problems, especially for young women, but the problem goes beyond that.
“Addicted kids become addicted adults, and the implications that we're seeing as negative body image or decreased socialization, that carries on into adulthood," Mosher said. "And you also said ‘the adult policy makers’ -- on the record, I am a kid saying this, maybe not most would, but we need adults to step in to save us from ourselves sometimes, and this is one of those situations with our phones."
One of the few voices of opposition came from Colby Coash, representing the Nebraska Association of School Boards. Coash said some schools have had success with policies prohibiting cell phone use from the opening to the closing bell, while others allow it during lunchtimes and while passing between classes. He said the policy would best be left to local school boards, and questioned whether the bill would do much good.
“Under the current language, it says ‘prohibition,’ and then later on, it says ‘unless the school board says,’ and if that's the way it is, I think I don't know if we're any further ahead than maybe where the current state of affairs is,” Coash said.
The committee took no immediate action on the bill.
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