At her first press conference as governor, Republican Kelly Ayotte reiterated her support for a ban on cellphones in New Hampshire classrooms, a proposal that’s receiving national praise, while also raising some local eyebrows.
Though the topic was rarely discussed during last year’s campaign, it’s emerged as a priority for Granite State Republicans. Senate President Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) made a pitch for the ban at a legislative press conference last week, and Ayotte followed up in her inaugural address last Thursday.
“Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments, drawing students’ attention away from their classes, and becoming a barrier for teachers to do their jobs,” Ayotte said. “No more.”
Asked about the ban during Wednesday’s press conference, Ayotte cited social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation”, which makes the case for limiting children’s screen time and social media use by comparing rates of mental illness.
“This is an issue about what we can do for teachers,” Ayotte said. “Teachers support this because they want to have the kids not distracted in their classrooms.”
Gov. Kelly Ayotte talks to reporters in her office, January 15, 2025.
After learning of Ayotte’s push, Haidt took to social media to express his support.
“Bravo Gov. Ayotte!” Haidt wrote. “Kids in New Hampshire will thank you for this…. though maybe not in the first week that their school goes phone free.
“But after a few weeks, they find out how much fun it is to just talk with friends without phones.”
The ban proposal is popular with voters as well. A recent Pew Research Center poll found roughly seven of 10 Americans support cellphone bans during class. But as is often the case, the devil is in the details. Only 36 percent of respondents said they supported a full school day’s ban on cellphone access.
The details also concerned GOP state Rep. State Rep. Liz Barbour (R-Hollis), who said she wasn’t sure how the parents in her suburban district would respond to a ban.
“I think parents are very nervous about the environment around schools now, they feel there are threats,” Barbour told NHJournal. “We have to find a way to make them feel comfortable with this, or at least to introduce ways where their children can be responsive (if parents want to reach them) that doesn’t require them to carry these cellphones.”
Ayotte said Wednesday she believes New Hampshire can learn from the experience of others. As of last month, eight state legislatures have approved policies that either ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones at school, according to the nonprofit KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation) research group.
“We want to make sure we take the best lessons from those states, working with the legislature, and then also seeking feedback from some of our local districts about how best to administer this,” Ayotte said “And so you will see that also coming forth, and in my budget, in terms of what our specific proposal is.”
There is currently pending legislation addressing cellphone bans.
HB 131 calls for “requiring school boards to develop and enact policies regarding personal cellphone use in schools” and is slated for a public hearing on Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.
Strategies for enacting bans range from the “honor code” method — simply telling students not to use phones in class and relying on their cooperation — to phone lockers were students are required to leave their phones during class time, to locking “pouches” like Yondr that allow students to keep their phones with them, but they are unable to access them during class time.
A compromise could result in the banning of student cellphone use during class hours but not the entire school day. Various school districts have policies in place allowing students to use their phones during recess or lunchtime breaks.
Last year Florida became the first state in the nation to address the issue when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation barring cell phone usage during class hours.
Yet even with laws already in place regulating cell phone usage at school, teachers are still dealing with students who simply can’t break the habit.
Patrick Truman, a Maryland high school teacher who works in a district that has outlawed student use of cellphones during class hours, told the Associated Press he has had to play the role of police officer.
“Cellphone use is out of control,” he said. “By that, I mean that I cannot control it, even in my own classroom.”
Truman said his school district puts the responsibility of enforcing the rule in the hands of its teachers. Each day, he said, he finds students hiding phones in their laps or in between the pages of textbooks.
He did, however, come across one positive outcome.
“Students who are on their phones are at least quiet,” he said. “They are not a behavior issue.”
Meanwhile, Republicans who represent affluent, suburban districts tell NHJournal they are worried that parents who are used to being able to reach their children at any time will balk at a cellphone ban. Asked about this concern, Carson offered a simple solution.
‘They can call the school office,” she said. “That’s how it operated for years.”
