LANSING — On Tuesday, February 10, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed two bipartisan bills aimed at improving student focus during class time by minimizing digital distractions. The two bill package, Senate Bill 495 and House Bill 4141 call for Michigan school districts to create action plans that keep devices away during class, with exceptions for emergencies and academic use.
“I’m proud to sign these bipartisan bills that will help prioritize academic success and support youth mental health,” said Governor Whitmer. “We know that when students put their phones down, their grades go up. These bills will help keep kids focused in the classroom and break their growing dependency on screens and social media. We could all benefit from looking up at the world instead of down at our phones.”
According to a release from the Office of the Governor, Districts will have control over their phone policies, allowing local leaders to consult with teachers, parents, and community members on what works best for their schools. This allows for flexibility in deciding how students can access their devices in case of emergency and on productive ways phones can be used as academic tools.
The bill sponsors in both the House and Senate commented on the signing of the laws:
“With nearly 20 years of experience as a public school teacher, I know firsthand how much student cell phone use impedes the ability to focus and learn in the classroom. And we all know that our educators are tasked with plenty enough already, so the last thing they need is the distraction of a cell phone going off while they’re trying to teach,” said state Senator Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia). “That’s why I’m proud to have championed this bipartisan, bicameral legislation that ensures phones are kept out of the hands of kids during the most critical time of the school day — when they’re in the classroom. I’m grateful to everyone who played a role in getting this important policy across the finish line.”
“We’re in the middle of a mental health crisis that is hurting kids. Getting cellphones out of the classroom will help protect young, developing brains, and I’m glad we were able to work together to get this done,” said state Rep. Mark Tisdel, (R-Rochester Hills). “Next, I’m working on legislation to give parents more control over how their children use social media. Social media is addictive by design; we’ve got to break the spell so kids can be free to be kids again.”
Over half of states across the U.S. and several schools in Michigan have already implemented polic
The ban on phone usage in schools is part of a broader movement to protect children from the harmful effects of digital devices and social media. In his new book, The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood” began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s. The book explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.
