Legislation requiring all school districts statewide to introduce cell phone policies received a hearing in the Senate Education Committee this week.
Key Points:
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- SB 234 was introduced by Senator Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia), who chairs the committee.
- The bill only requires school districts to create policies, it doesn’t specify what those policies must be.
- It was purposefully left ambiguous to allow districts to make policies that best fit their schools, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work.
- The bill allows for exemptions for medical use, device usage in an IEP, and for emergencies.
- As introduced, the requirement would begin in the 2025-2026 school year, however, there was some concern over the ability to have policies created by that deadline.
Next Steps:
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- Chairwoman Polehanki is working on a substitute for the bill to clarify that districts must enforce the policies they enact.
- The bill remains before the committee awaiting further consideration.
