Vermont H. 54: An act relating to the Total Abstinence program

Bill Text

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.54
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VT LEG #378380 v.4
H.54 1
Introduced by Representatives Arsenault of Williston, Birong of Vergennes, 2
Bishop of Colchester, Bluemle of Burlington, Boutin of Barre 3
City, Brady of Williston, Burditt of West Rutland, Burke of 4
Brattleboro, Burkhardt of South Burlington, Burtt of Cabot, 5
Campbell of St. Johnsbury, Chapin of East Montpelier, Christie 6
of Hartford, Coffin of Cavendish, Demar of Enosburgh, 7
Dobrovich of Williamstown, Dodge of Essex, Duke of 8
Burlington, Galfetti of Barre Town, Goldman of Rockingham, 9
Goslant of Northfield, Graning of Jericho, Harrison of 10
Chittenden, Higley of Lowell, Hooper of Randolph, Hunter of 11
Manchester, Krasnow of South Burlington, Labor of Morgan, 12
Masland of Thetford, McCoy of Poultney, Minier of South 13
Burlington, Morrow of Weston, Mrowicki of Putney, Nigro of 14
Bennington, North of Ferrisburgh, Nugent of South Burlington, 15
Oliver of Sheldon, Pezzo of Colchester, Pouech of Hinesburg, 16
Priestley of Bradford, Pritchard of Pawlet, Rachelson of 17
Burlington, Satcowitz of Randolph, Stone of Burlington, 18
Surprenant of Barnard, Torre of Moretown, Waters Evans of 19
Charlotte, White of Waitsfield, and Winter of Ludlow 20

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VT LEG #378380 v.4
Referred to Committee on 1
Date: 2
Subject: Education; cell phone-free schools 3
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit the 4
use of cell phones and personal electronic devices during the school day in 5
public schools, independent schools, career and technical education centers, 6
and prequalified private prekindergarten programs, as well as to prohibit 7
schools from communicating with students through social media. 8
An act relating to cell phone-free schools 9
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 10
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 11
(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 12
(1) The National Education Association reported in August 2024 that 83 13
percent of its members support a policy to prohibit use of cell phones and 14
personal electronic devices for the entire school day. 15
(2) In June 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called on 16
Congress to pass legislation requiring warning labels on social media because 17
these products have not been proven safe for children. He also called on 18
schools to “ensure that classroom learning and social time are phone-free 19
experiences.” 20

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(3) Youth in Vermont are in a mental health crisis. According to the 1
2023 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 63 percent of high 2
school students said that their mental health was sometimes to always “not 3
good.” Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Vermont’s youth. 4
(4) The youth mental health crisis is driving up education costs in 5
Vermont. A 2024 Legislative Education Costs Survey conducted by the 6
Vermont Agency of Education found that the number of positions dedicated to 7
mental and behavioral health in the 48 responding supervisory unions and 8
districts was 142 in fiscal year 2022. By fiscal year 2025, that number had 9
risen to 790. Extrapolated to include the four remaining supervisory unions, 10
those positions account for close to $53,000,000.00 of education spending. 11
(5) The Vermont YRBS also found that 80 percent of high school 12
students use social media several times a day, with 40 percent using social 13
media at least one time every hour. 60 percent of middle school students 14
reported using social media several times a day, with 32 percent using it at 15
least once per hour. 16
(6) Phone-free policies have been shown to reduce the incidence of 17
hazing, harassment, and bullying in some schools. Lamoille South 18
Supervisory Union instituted a phone-free school day policy in August 2024. 19
Data from one of the supervisory union’s high schools showed nine hazing, 20
harassment, and bullying claims from August to October 2023, before the 21

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policy, and just two such claims during the same period in 2024, after the 1
policy was enacted. 2
(7) Use of social media by school employees runs the risk of violating 3
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Given this risk, as well as the 4
growing body of research that shows social media is not safe for kids, schools 5
and students are best served by utilizing communication tools other than social 6
media. 7
(8) As of November 2024, eight states have passed laws that ban or 8
restrict cell phone use in schools. 9
(b) Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly for all students in 10
Vermont to access the benefits of a phone- and social media-free school 11
environment, which promotes focus, improved mental health, and increased 12
social cohesion. 13
Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. chapter 9, subchapter 7 is added to read: 14
Subchapter 7. Cell Phone and Personal Electr