TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers late Friday approved barring students in elementary and middle schools from using cell phones during the school day — and testing the idea in high schools.
Current law prevents students from using cell phones during instructional time, but the change would expand that prohibition to throughout the school day in elementary and middle schools. Rep. Demi Busatta, a Coral Gables Republican who spearheaded the proposal, described it as “bell to bell.”
The cell-phone change was included in a broader education bill (HB 1105) that passed in the final hours of the last scheduled night of this year’s legislative session. Lawmakers, however, did not finish a budget and are expected to return to the Capitol during the week of May 12 to negotiate a spending plan.
While the bill would prohibit cell phone use throughout the day in elementary and middle schools, it would keep the current law about instructional time for high schools. But it also would create a pilot program in six counties that would prevent cell phone use in high schools during the entire school day.
Sen. Danny Burgess, a Zephyrhills Republican who led efforts to pass the bill in the Senate, said lawmakers were taking a hybrid approach and cited a “different dynamic” in high schools than in lower grades.
The pilot would be in two small counties, two medium-sized counties and two large counties selected by the Department of Education.
Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, raised concerns about how a ban would affect students who take part in such things as field trips during the school day.
“If there’s a field trip that’s out of town and they go to some event and it’s out of town, (and) the kids don’t have their cell phones, parents won’t have the ability (to reach them),” Gantt said.
But Busatta pushed back against such arguments.
“Just like we did it when we were in school and we didn’t have phones and we didn’t have smart phones, our parents were able to get a hold of us when they needed to,” she said. “They would call the front desk, you go to the front desk, you make a call from the front office.”
The House voted 85-14 to pass the bill, with the Senate following in a 26-5 vote. The bill is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The bill also included changes that would help charter schools. For instance, it would require that charter schools get a cut if school districts receive sales-tax money through what is known as a local-government infrastructure surtax. Charter schools would receive proportionate shares based on school enrollment.
Also, the bill would make it easier to convert traditional public schools to charter schools. Currently, such conversions must receive support from a majority of parents and a majority of teachers. The bill would remove the requirement for teacher support.