September 24, 20249:20 AM GMT+8Updated 3 hours ago
Item 1 of 2 School buses seen in California, U.S., August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
[1/2] School buses seen in California, U.S., August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Sept 23 (Reuters) - California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on Monday a bill that requires schools to limit or ban the use of smartphones, amid a growing consensus that excess usage can increase the risk of mental illness and impair learning.
Thirteen other states this year have banned or restricted cellphones in school or recommended local educators do so, after Florida led the way by banning phones in class in 2023, according to Education Week.
California, with nearly 5.9 million public school students, has followed the lead of its own Los Angeles County, whose school board banned smartphones for its 429,000 students in June.
That same month U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for a warning label, opens new tab on social media platforms, akin to those on cigarette packages, likening the problem to a mental health emergency.
Murthy cited a study, opens new tab in the medical journal JAMA showing adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media may be at heightened risk of mental illness, while referring to a Gallup poll, opens new tab showing the average teen spends 4.8 hours per day on social media.
California’s bill, which passed 76-0 in the state assembly and 38-1 in the senate, requires school boards or other governing bodies to develop a policy to limit or prohibit student use of smartphones on campus by July 1, 2026, and update the policy every five years.
“We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues - but we have the power to intervene. This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school,” Newsom said in a statement.
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Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
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Daniel Trotta is a U.S. National Affairs correspondent, covering race, guns, LGBTQ+ issues, immigration, homelessness and breaking news in the 50 states. Previously based in New York and now in California, Trotta was awarded the NLGJA award for excellence in transgender coverage. He was previously posted in Cuba, Spain, Mexico and Nicaragua, covering top world stories including the normalization of Cuban-U.S. relations and the Madrid train bombing by Islamist radicals.
Last edited by @suen 2024-09-24T04:43:30Z