Vermont S 21: An act relating to cell phone-free schools

Bill Text

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VT LEG #379276 v.1
S.21 1
Introduced by Senators Williams, Brennan, Collamore, Cummings, Douglass, 2
Hart, Ingalls, Lyons, Norris, Perchlik and White 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Education; cell phone-free schools 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit the 7
use of cell phones and personal electronic devices during the school day in 8
public schools, independent schools, career and technical education centers, 9
and prequalified private prekindergarten programs, as well as to prohibit 10
schools from communicating with students through social media. 11
An act relating to cell phone-free schools 12
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 13
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 14
(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 15
(1) The National Education Association reported in August 2024 that 83 16
percent of its members support a policy to prohibit use of cell phones and 17
personal electronic devices for the entire school day. 18
(2) In June 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called on 19
Congress to pass legislation requiring warning labels on social media because 20

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these products have not been proven safe for children. He also called on 1
schools to “ensure that classroom learning and social time are phone-free 2
experiences.” 3
(3) Youth in Vermont are in a mental health crisis. According to the 4
2023 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 63 percent of high 5
school students said that their mental health was sometimes to always “not 6
good.” Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Vermont’s youth. 7
(4) The youth mental health crisis is driving up education costs in 8
Vermont. A 2024 Legislative Education Costs Survey conducted by the 9
Vermont Agency of Education found that the number of positions dedicated to 10
mental and behavioral health in the 48 responding supervisory unions and 11
districts was 142 in fiscal year 2022. By fiscal year 2025, that number had 12
risen to 790. Extrapolated to include the remaining four remaining supervisory 13
unions, those positions account for close to $53,000,000.00 of education 14
spending. 15
(5) The Vermont YRBS also found that 80 percent of high school 16
students use social media several times a day, with 40 percent using social 17
media at least one time every hour. 60 percent of middle school students 18
reported using social media several times a day, with 32 percent using it at 19
least once per hour. 20

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(6) Phone-free policies have been shown to reduce the incidence of 1
hazing, harassment, and bullying in some schools. Lamoille South 2
Supervisory Union instituted a phone-free school day policy in August 2024. 3
Data from one of the supervisory union’s high schools showed nine hazing, 4
harassment, and bullying claims from August to October 2023, before the 5
policy, and just two such claims during the same period in 2024, after the 6
policy was enacted. 7
(7) Use of social media by school employees runs the risk of violating 8
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Given this risk, as well as the 9
growing body of research that shows social media is not safe for kids, schools 10
and students are best served by utilizing communication tools other than social 11
media. 12
(8) As of November 2024, eight states have passed laws that ban or 13
restrict cell phone use in schools. 14
(b) Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly for all students in 15
Vermont to access the benefits of a phone- and social media-free school 16
environment, which promotes focus, improved mental health, and increased 17
social cohesion. 18

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Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. chapter 9, subchapter 7 is added to read: 1
Subchapter 7. Cell Phone and Personal Electronic Device Use in Schools 2
§ 581. DEFINITIONS 3
As used in this subchapter: 4
(1) “Cell phone” means any device capable of using cellular technology 5
to facilitate voice service through a commercial telecommunications company, 6
regardless of whether the device can access internet services and electronic 7
mail. 8
(2) “Electronic device” means any device that: 9
(A) transmits sounds, images, texts, messages, videos, or electronic 10
information; 11
(B) electronically records, plays, or stores information; or 12
(C) accesses the internet or private communication or information 13
networks. 14
(3) “Parent” means a parent of a student and includes legal guardians 15
who are legally authorized to make education decisions for the student. 16
(4) “School” means any public school, independent school, career and 17
technical center, or prequalified private prekindergarten provider located in 18
Vermont. 19
(5) “Social media” means a website or internet medium that: 20

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VT LE