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Colorado lawmakers are seeking limits on student cell phone use in the classroom.
On Wednesday, legislators unveiled a new bill that would require school districts to enact policies to limit cell phone and smartwatch use by July 2026. The bill also requires school boards to spell out exceptions, such as for health emergencies or to report a safety concern.
The legislation aims to eliminate distractions within the classroom that hinder learning, lawmakers and others said during a news conference ahead of the bill’s filing. They said they hope device-free classrooms will foster better mental health among students.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who supports the bill, announced seven statewide grants Wednesday to support school districts in their efforts to revamp cell phone use policies.
“Every metric you can look at underscores what the Surgeon General has called a youth mental health crisis,” he said. “Over the last decade, the widespread adoption of smartphones is one of the main causes of why young people are suffering, why bullying is on the rise, why self-harm is on the rise, why distraction is on the rise, why kids are not sleeping at night.”
Recent research has shown that kids who spend more than four hours a day on social media experience significant mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression, Lauren Henry, a Children’s Hospital of Colorado clinical psychologist, said at Wednesday’s press conference.
The bill has bipartisan support and three of the sponsors are former educators. Bill sponsors include state Sens. Janice Marchman, a Loveland Democrat, and Lisa Frizzel, a Castle Rock Republican, as well as state Reps. Meghan Lukens, a Steamboat Springs Democrat, and Mary Bradfield, a Colorado Springs Republican.
Lukens, who chairs the House Education Committee, said 19 other states have cell phone policies such as the one introduced in the bill. While many Colorado schools might have a policy, some are outdated or aren’t districtwide, she said.
However, an increasing number of school districts have started to adopt stricter cell phone policies in the last two years, according to a Chalkbeat survey of the 20 largest school districts in Colorado. The policies vary, but most restrict use in middle and elementary schools during the day while high school students have more access. Students and parents have varied reactions to the changes.
The goal of the legislation is to respect the independence of districts, but also create statewide policy that reduces distractions and promotes better student mental health, Lukens said.
“We all want our students to succeed in the classroom, and this bill sets us on the right path forward,” Lukens said.
Superintendent Brian Hill of Mesa County Valley School District 51 in Grand Junction said his district recently revamped its cell phone policies to prohibit cell phones in elementary and middle schools altogether and in high school classrooms. Some high school principals have even gone as far as banning cell phone use during lunch and in hallways, he said.
The bill would allow districts to figure out what works best for their schools, such as in District 51, he said.
“Our teachers actually were the ones that were most vocal,” he said. “They were saying we want something consistent across the board. We want it to come from the district, because I’m tired of being the one teacher that’s restricting cell phones and the other teacher isn’t.”
District 51 has lockers for cell phones and some schools have purchased pouch locks, Hill said. The bill doesn’t say how schools should store the phones because the bill’s authors said they don’t want to create extra costs not funded by the state.
“We have a duty to take immediate action to ensure the situation is addressed appropriately,” Bradfield said.
Although the bill doesn’t provide funding for any policy work by boards, some schools will get support through the attorney general grants to identify practices that work for their communities. Here’s a list of the schools and their intended goals for the funding:
- Aurora Public Schools plans to host educational opportunities for students, educators, and parents about healthy smartphone usage.
- Denver Justice High School wants to create an incentive-based system to support student compliance with smartphone policies. The school will also hold engagement sessions with families about cell phone use.
- Eastlake High School will use the grant to expand and improve existing smartphone storage policies.
- Englewood Schools plans to buy smartphone lockers for classrooms and create a yearlong campaign that talks about the challenges of cell phone use.
- Mesa County Valley School District 51 intends to develop learning tools that focus on digital literacy and the impact of technology on students.
- Pueblo County School District 70 will host digital literacy presentations and student-led awareness campaigns to teach students how to use smartphones responsibly.
- Trinidad School District 1 plans to teach students and teachers about the challenges of cell phone and social media addiction. District leaders also want to purchase smartphone storage containers and review its policies.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
