A proposal that would prohibit Florida students from using cellphones and other wireless devices throughout the entire school day, not just during instructional time, is moving forward in the state Legislature.
On Wednesday, the Education & Employment Committee unanimously approved the bill (HB 949), which would also require school districts to designate specific areas where students are allowed to use their devices.
Bill sponsor Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, R-Coral Gables, explained that the proposal does not explicitly define “wireless devices” to ensure that it excludes medical devices while covering future technologies.
The proposal builds on a 2022 law that barred students from using cellphones during instructional time.
Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, expressed support for the bill, stating that its intent is to create an environment where students can thrive without distractions.
Meanwhile, a similar Senate bill (SB 1296) cleared the Education Pre-K-12 Committee on Monday. That proposal would require the education commissioner to develop a statewide cellphone policy based on findings from six school districts that would enforce the ban throughout the 2025-2026 academic year.
Broward County sees fewer fights after cellphone ban
Some Florida schools have already implemented restrictive cellphone policies with notable results.
In Broward County Public Schools, officials report that academic performance is up while school fights have decreased since banning cellphones.
While some exceptions exist, students are generally required to keep their phones on airplane mode during the school day.
In January, School board member Dr. Allen Zeman pointed to a 17% decline in fights compared to the same period last year, attributing the decrease to the cellphone ban.
“And what they’ve said is the lack of cellphones is taking away an ability for people to organize fights and organize big numbers of people to get together and fight during or after school,” Zeman said.
“The lack of cellphones leads to fewer fights, to fights with fewer people that last fewer minutes, and it also reduces cyberbullying—which is something that causes fights. And then it stops the recording of fights, which stops people from doing the right thing and trying to make sure that the fights are ended.”
Zeman also credited the cellphone restrictions for boosting student engagement in classrooms.
“Absolutely, I had a teacher write to us and say for the first time in 10 years, for each student in her classroom, she had two eyeballs watching her give a lecture,” he said.
Broward County Public Schools plans to continue studying the impact of the cellphone policy throughout the remainder of the school year.
