Connecticut educators and parents are joining forces to advance statewide phone-free schools legislation designed to protect student mental health, restore classroom focus, and foster genuine social connection during the school day.
The Phone-Free CT coalition includes the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), AFT Connecticut, The Anxious Generation Movement, Distraction Free Schools Policy Project, and the Becca Schmill Foundation. Together, the partners aim to ensure that legislators adopt a comprehensive, bell-to-bell phone-free schools mandate in this year’s legislative session, which convenes on Wednesday, February 4.
“Every day, our educators experience how cell phones in the classroom are distracting teaching and learning and eroding the attention, civility, and mental health of our students,” says CEA President Kate Dias. “Legislators need to take action to ensure that every district has the ability to put learning—not cell phones —at the center of the school day. When students are constantly checking their phones, we lose opportunities for learning and human connection.”
“Thanks to Governor Lamont’s early leadership on this issue, many Connecticut public schools have already implemented strong phone policies, but more must be done,” says Anxious Generation’s Connecticut Ambassador, Deepa Javeri. “A statewide school bell-to-bell environment ensures comprehensive protection from digital distractions during the school day for all of Connecticut’s students.”
“In our districts, we’ve worked collaboratively with administrators to reset norms and implement tools to establish a culture shift,” says AFT Connecticut Vice President for PreK-12 Leslie Blatteau. “Our collective goal is to ensure cell phone-free spaces for our students to thrive and learn. It’s part of our union’s concerted efforts to protect our kids and communities by demanding the resources we need to provide fully staffed, welcoming and engaging public school classrooms.”
Phone-Free CT is calling on legislators to
• Require bell-to-bell phone-free environments in public schools, ensuring devices are stored securely during the academic day.
• Prescribe universal enforcement – all grades, all public schools.
• Provide implementation flexibility for districts (e.g., Yondr pouches, secure lockers, or equivalent systems).
• Establish evaluation metrics to measure improvements in student engagement, attendance, and wellbeing.
Dozens of states have taken legislative action to prevent phone usage in schools with positive results for student learning and school climate. Research shows that restricting cell phone use during the school day improves both academic outcomes and the classroom environment with teachers reporting fewer classroom disruptions, stronger student engagement, and improvements in student behavior and social interactions.
“Removing cell phones from the school day restores what matters most in our classrooms: attention, engagement, and human connection,” said Dias. “When distractions are eliminated, teachers can teach more effectively, students can fully participate in learning, and schools become more focused, supportive environments where every student has the opportunity to succeed.”
“We strongly urge Connecticut lawmakers to take decisive action before Connecticut falls behind on this issue,” said Javeri. “Many of our neighboring states have already passed legislation; Connecticut’s students deserve classrooms designed for focus, connection, and success.”
For more information and research on the benefits of bell-to-bell cell phone bans and to join the efforts of Phone-Free CT, visit phonefreect.org.
