The new school season in Florida is just weeks away. Most county school districts will be starting classes as soon as the law allows — Aug. 11 this year — and Aug. 1 kicks off the new month-long back-to-school tax holiday.
One thing parents and students may be wondering: can kids bring their phones to school?
Short answer: it depends on the school district. But they can't use them.
Under a new Florida law that went into effect July 1:
Elementary and middle school students will not be allowed to use any wireless devices such as smartphones, tablets or smartwatches at any time during the school day ("bell to bell").
High school students will be prohibited from using them in the classroom or other instructional time unless explicitly told to by the teacher and then only in a designated area.
Individual districts may apply their own rules for phone use, in addition to state law. The Volusia County School Board on July 29 passed a new electronics policy requiring all phones in school to be turned off or placed in airplane mode during the school day, with disciplinary action for violations. Volusia also banned secretly recording video or audio during class and the use of earbuds, unless instructed.
Florida ahead of the curve in banning student phone use
The new law comes as several states and districts look at banning phones in schools.
In 2023, Florida became the first state to restrict students' cell phone use during class. Indiana and Ohio soon followed. In April, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law similar to Florida's current rules, and New York added a bell-to-bell ban for K-12 schools as part of an agreement on its state budget. However, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a phone ban last year, saying schools were already handling the issue on their own.
The ban is intended to reduce distractions in school and any use of phones for illegal activities, bullying, harassment, threatening, cheating, or capturing or displaying images or video of a student during a medical issue or "engaged in misconduct."
The bill also called for a pilot program to test banning high school student phone use during the entire school day in six counties.
A 2023 Pew Research Center analysis found that 72% of the high school teachers surveyed said phones in class distract students, although 70% of students ages 13-17 said that phone use was more positive than negative and 45% said that smartphones helped them in school. Nearly a quarter of the teens polled said phones made learning more difficult and 30% did not notice a difference.
Critics of the law say a total ban endangers children by leaving them without a source of communication during emergencies, such as school shootings, and prevents students from taking video of bullying in school or improper actions by teachers or school safety officers.
Can Florida students bring their phones to school?
The law does not say that students may not carry phones, only that they may not use them. Individual school districts may have more restrictive codes, parents and guardians should check with their local districts for more information.
Exemptions are included for students with medical requirements for the use of a wireless communications device "based on valid clinical reasoning or evidence."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida students face new school year without phones under new law
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