The Missouri House passed legislation Wednesday that would restrict cellphone use in schools.
Members voted 132-11 to pass the bill, which included a number of education provisions. It now goes to the Senate.
Through the legislation, school districts must create a policy on cellphone use that would be adopted in the 2026-27 school year.
The policy must include barring students from using cellphones during “regularly scheduled instructional activities and mealtimes.” However, the school principal would be able to authorize cell use during those times.
There are also exceptions for students with documented needs and health purposes.
Schools would also be able to include in their policy guidelines for the use of phones during emergencies, field trips and for educational purposes as well as other situations.
Rep. Jamie Gragg, R-Ozark, who is the sponsor of the bill, said this policy was initially presented to him by one of his former teachers.
“She had already put together her own cellphone policy, and she noticed that after two years, her classroom scores had skyrocketed, not only in test scores, but also in homework scores,” Gragg said.
Gragg wasn’t the only lawmaker this session to propose cellphone restrictions in schools.
Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, a former teacher, had her own bill this session. She said during initial approval on Monday that cellphones negatively affect students beyond academic achievement.
“The students I saw at the beginning of my career, they might be the same age as the students I saw at the end of my career, but they were not the same people. We saw a lot of isolations, a lot of anxiety," Steinhoff said.
The legislation includes policies related to education such as requiring schools to report all safety incidents and credible school threats to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
It also establishes the "Missouri Educators and Parental Empowerment and Rights Act." The policy outlines certain rights for parents and educators.
For parents, that includes knowing what is being taught in schools and the ability to view school records. For teachers, those rights include classroom preparation time during contract hours and to teach in a “safe, secure, and orderly environment.”
