State Lawmakers Have Plans To Move Forward With Phone-Free Classroom Initiatives

State Senators held a two-day interim study to learn about the pros and cons of eliminating or cutting down on cellphone usage in Oklahoma classrooms. Multiple state lawmakers say they have plans to introduce different legislation on the topic in 2025.

“I think the momentum is there,” said Sen. Ally Seifried, (R) Claremore.

“I wanted to build a consensus and a coalition,” said Sen. Adam Pugh, (R) Edmond.

State senators Ally Seifried and Adam Pugh held a two-day conversation on the potential pros and cons of eliminating phone usage for students.

“We talked about the outcomes academically and how they’re suffering and showed really how it was affected by the rise of smartphones,” said Seifried.

The interim study included about a dozen speakers including teachers, school administrators, mental health experts, a psychiatrist, and a neuroscientist.

They studied the correlation between phone usage in children with poor academic outcomes and overall worse mental health. Many of the experts say that the mental health decline is correlated with an increase in social media usage.

Now, Sen. Sefried and Sen. Pugh will take what they learned from the study into account as they craft legislation for 2025.

“I have a very particular perspective on this,” said Pugh. “If I was just able to wave a magic wand and say what do I think the best policy going forward is, it would be to have cellphones out of the classrooms for sure and probably off school grounds.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Seifried is looking at the option of a pilot program for schools to test out different methods.

“Each school district is different and each site in the district is different,” said Sen. Seifried. “Our goal with this has always been to come alongside school districts and be supportive.” 

Both agree that districts should have flexibility with their cellphone policies.

“We don't want anyone to be unsafe ever, but we also want them to achieve academically so it’s about finding the right balance,” said Sen. Seifried.

From a safety standpoint, some have raised concerns that students wouldn’t have access to call 911 in an emergency. But Pugh says he’s hearing a different perspective from some law enforcement.

One local police chief told the senator, “We don't have the bandwidth in our cell service to handle 500 or 1,000 people on their cellphones at the same time, it would actually be a hindrance to public safety,” said Sen. Pugh.

Seifried and Pugh plan to file legislation on this issue ahead of the 2025 legislative session. Bill filing begins Nov. 15.