Kansas bans student phones, earbuds, smartwatches for entire school day

The Story in Brief

Kansas will require students to keep phones, earbuds, and smartwatches inaccessible during the entire school day when classes resume later this month. The law is part of a broader trend in the US, where at least 35 states have introduced some form of smartphone restriction in schools. Twenty-four states, including Alabama, California, Texas, and New York, have a bell-to-bell ban. Others, like Florida, Georgia, and Hawaii, limit the ban to grades K-8.

Parent support for the restrictions is growing, reports Times of India. Megan Coffey, a parent in the Shawnee Mission School District and member of the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens, said data and research back the ban. The district is also stopping iPads from going home with elementary students unless for a specific assignment, and will restrict passive use of devices during recess. Superintendent Michael Schumacher acknowledged the district had lost track of how devices were being used and promised community input on new policies for instructional technology and artificial intelligence.