A GOP proposal to take cellphones out of New Hampshire public school classrooms is picking up support from lobbyists representing teachers’ unions and school boards, a rare alliance as school officials and Republicans continue to lock horns over parents’ rights, school choice, and biological males competing in girls’ sports.
A classroom cellphone ban also has the support of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who mentioned it in her inaugural address last month.
The legislation was introduced by state Sen. Denise Ricciardi (R-Bedford) and requires public schools to adopt policies to limit the use of cellphones by students.
“Research has shown that excessive cellphone use in classrooms can hinder academic performance, reduce attention spans, and limit meaningful student interactions,” Ricciardi said. “By minimizing distractions, the No Screens in Classrooms Act ensures New Hampshire’s students can fully engage with their education and develop the critical thinking and communication skills needed for lifelong success.”
At Tuesday’s Senate Education Committee hearing, New Hampshire American Federation of Teachers President Deb Howes said, “The current system isn’t working.”
“It’s a battle of wills,” Howes added. “And leaving it up to each individual educator creates a burden. It’s setting them up for a behavior management struggle, or even a power struggle, with a teen or a preteen who doesn’t want to give up their phone.”
Education Committee Vice Chair Victoria Sullivan (R-Manchester) offered another reason to explain why teachers overwhelmingly support the classroom cellphone ban.
“We have discovered some abuse in the classroom by some kids who’ve had use of a cellphone,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan told NHJournal she was referring to cellphone videos shot by students and posted online that pick up instances of abuse committed by teachers and the introduction of controversial curriculum or political commentary parents may consider not age-appropriate and otherwise would never have known about.
“Which is one big reason why the teachers’ unions support this,” Sullivan said. “In this instance, it’s a little confusing, because you have the school boards association and the teachers association saying, ‘Please take this burden away from us.’ But part of the problem with the current bill is it doesn’t give the teachers the flexibility to control their classrooms the way that they see fit, right?
“So, there is a local control issue here and a classroom control issue,” Sullivan said “So, how much of that do they actually want us (the legislature) to control.”
Sullivan said while she supports keeping cell phones out of the classroom during learning hours, she noted the current version of Ricciardi’s bill is still in its infancy.
One key question: Should New Hampshire simply ban cellphone use in classrooms, but allow students to use them in the halls, at lunch, or elsewhere? Or should the Granite State follow the lead of Massachusetts, where Attorney General Andrea Campbell is calling for a stricter “bell-to-bell” ban? If the proposal is implemented, schools would have to have policies that prevent students from accessing their phones during school hours.
Legislation proposed in Arkansas and supported by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders requires school districts to restrict the possession of phones during the school day and outright prohibit their use, except in emergencies.
Ricciardi’s bill would “empower school boards to limit cellphone use in schools while maintaining necessary exceptions for medical conditions, disabilities, and language proficiency needs,” she said in a statement.
There is also the cost associated with implementing a statewide policy. Committee Chairwoman Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard) recalled watching a presentation at an education conference by a company specializing in secured, temporary cell phone storage. Schools would almost certainly have to spend money to store phones or restrict their use.
Barrett Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Board Association, said House lawmakers have submitted two different bills addressing school cellphone bans, with one (HB 781) that includes a $250,000 reimbursement for school districts.
Christina added the NH SBA is also concerned with prohibition that does not include exceptions for communication with parents.
“Think about a canceled practice and now you have 30 kids trying to use one landline to call their parents to schedule a ride,” he said. “We think parental buy-in could be a challenge.”
Brian Hawkins, director of government relations for the New Hampshire National Education Association, said that in times of an emergency, a practical safety response plan would work more effectively than a flurry of text messages from individual students.
“If there is an incident in the school, I’d want my child paying attention to the adult in the room helping them follow the safety plan and not on the phone,” he said. “I think it can be a distraction in that situation.
“Also, rumors can fly around very quickly in an emergency situation. It builds. You just have an overwhelmed network. The most important thing is to make sure students and educators are safe should an incident like that occur.”
A year ago, Florida became the first state in the nation to tackle the issue when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation barring student cellphone usage during class hours.