During the 2025 legislative session, Arkansas lawmakers are trying to address phone usage in schools. The Bell to Bell Cell Phone Act would ban the use of cell phones by students from when school starts to when school ends.
The legislation has the support of Gov. Sarah Sanders, according to her office. Sanders became a supporter of banning cellphones in schools after reading The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt, which looks into how social media is creating more anxiety amongst teenagers.
“We have seen a staggering rise in mental illness among young people over the past decade. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to smartphones and social media,” Sanders said.
Earlier this year, Sanders spoke at the World Economic Forum to explain how the state enacted a pilot program in Arkansas to allow schools to take phones from students for the day.
In an interview with Arkansas PBS, Sen. Tyler Deese, R-Siloam Springs, said the legislation is needed so the state can provide the best education for its students. He said the pilot program of the cellphone ban, which was conducted last year by the state, made it a priority for lawmakers to address cell phone usage.
“We had great participation from across the state. The majority of schools signed off. The data we’re receiving from the pilot program is proving that this is working. When we limit cell phones, data comes back and shows that missed assignments go down, engagement goes up, and disciplinary issues go down,” he said.
According to Ballotpedia, seven states—California, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Virginia—have banned or limited cellphones in classrooms.
