Cellphones, social media to be banned in Los Angeles public schools
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Photo illustration of a 12-year-old boy with an iPhone. Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
The Los Angeles Unified School District voted 5 to 2 on Tuesday to ban cellphone and social media use for its more than 429,000 students during the school day.
Why it matters: The nation's second-largest school district is joining others in cracking down on students' access to cellphones and social media through updated school policies over fears that the devices distract them from learning and affect their social development.
- The Los Angeles Unified School District's ban on social media use during the school day came a day after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for legislation forcing social media platforms to display warning labels about the potential harm they may pose to teens' mental health.
Zoom in: The vote didn't define the ban but requires the district to establish a plan within 120 days that will be ready for the spring semester of the 2024-2025 school year.
- It allows exceptions for students who may rely on their phones for translating or other educational purposes.
Zoom out: Policies vary from school to school, but some require students to keep phones in pouches or lockers for the entire day, while others prohibit use only in class.
- While individual districts have pursued bans through policy updates, states like Utah and Florida have passed blanket bans, requiring all state school districts to adopt new rules.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called for a statewide ban on smartphone use in California schools and said he would work with lawmakers to restrict use throughout the state.
By the numbers: Parents have been generally supportive of reducing cell phone usage in schools but disagree on how severe the ban should be, according to a recent survey by the National Parents Union.
- 56% said they believe students should sometimes be allowed to use cellphones, like during lunch or recess, at athletic events and in class for academic purposes approved by their teacher.
The big picture: It's unclear how those recent policy changes have affected students' education as potential benefits or drawbacks may take a while to emerge in academic data.
- 76% of schools across the U.S. said they prohibited cellphones for non-academic use during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
- At 43%, high schools and secondary schools were the least likely to ban cellphones, and elementary schools were the highest at 87%, according to the survey.
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