In the first week of July, Gov. Josh Stein signed 15 bills into law. One bill places North Carolina among the few states with legislation banning or restricting cellphone usage in public schools.
Stein commented on House Bill 959 in a statement on July 1, the date on which the bill was approved.
“When teachers don’t have to compete with cell phones for student attention, real learning happens,” Stein said, “This bipartisan bill gives students a distraction-free learning environment so they can focus on their education, and it provides a seven-hour mental break from the unrelenting pressures of phones and social media.”
While the bill places restrictions on phone use in N.C. schools, it does not include a “blanket ban” on all mobile devices for students. Here’s what N.C. students and parents should know about HB 959 and the changes it brings to the state’s public school rules.
What is HB 959?
According to text from the bill, House Bill 959 is intended to accomplish the following:
Require social media literacy instruction in schools.
Require regulation of student use of wireless communication devices during instructional time.
Allow certain nonpublic schools to request residency licenses for teachers.
Allow certain schools to apply for reaccreditation by the criminal justice education and training standards commission.
Are phones allowed in schools in NC? Are phones being banned in NC schools?
HB 959, which was signed into law by Stein on July 1, does not completely ban cellphones from public schools. However, it does introduce some restrictions.
In short, the bill requires schools to create rules disallowing students from using, displaying or having phones and other wireless communication devices turned on during instructional time. This may include cellphones, tablets, gaming devices and more.
Teachers may authorize the use of these devices in certain scenarios, and school boards are allowed to set rules for how and when teachers can grant this permission. Schools are also required to define consequences for breaking device policies, such as confiscation of the device or other disciplinary action.
“Earlier this month, my Advisory Council on Student Safety and Well-being released its first report recommending this step and outlining best practices for creating cell phone-free classrooms,” Stein said in the July 1 release. “It will serve as a resource for our school systems as they implement these common-sense policies.”
When will cellphones be banned in NC schools?
N.C. public schools must adopt wireless device policies in accordance with HB 959 by Jan. 1, 2026.
Yondr pouches are one common method of restricting cellphone usage in schools. The pouches can only be unlocked with magnetic devices, preventing unapproved usage of the devices.
What states have banned phones in schools?
Newsweek compiled a list of the 14 states with current laws or executive orders banning or restricting cellphone use in schools. The states include:
Are cellphone bans in schools a good idea?
Scientific American, a journal that posts work from scientists, scholars, people with “lived experience of scientific or social issues” and other knowledgeable groups, published a piece on the merits of cellphone bans for schools.
The article compiled information from several sources backing the view that phone bans help students perform better in class. This information included a 2022 global study in which one out of every three students reported distraction from phones “in every or almost every lesson.”
Apart from factors related to academic performance and distraction, mental health in students is also a commonly discussed issue when it comes to phones in classrooms. However, many experts agree that blanket phone bans are not the answer.
“Locking them away literally teaches that they are things that should be hidden, not discussed,” stated Pete Etchells, a professor at Bath Spa University in England, in the article. “This does not nurture healthy habits and relationships with technology.”
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Are phones allowed in schools in NC? Here’s what HB 959 restricts