COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill limiting cellphone use by students in Ohio schools.
The Senate and House passed the bill within the last month. The policy was added to an unrelated House bill in a Senate committee and the Senate later passed it.
The bill requires public schools to create a policy limiting phone use as much as possible during school hours. It also requires the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to create a model policy for schools to adopt if they don't want to make their own.
However, there are exceptions. Cellphones will be allowed if the device is being used as a learning tool or to monitor a student's health.
Before signing the bill during an event at Karrer Middle School in Dublin, DeWine encouraged districts to ban cellphone use during school hours altogether.
"Cellphones in classrooms pose a significant challenge to learning. It undermines instruction and exposes our kids to potentially harmful content," DeWine said.
At a roundtable in Dublin in March, educators from around the state said banning phones in their schools led to greater student engagement, fewer skipped classes and less bullying.
Dublin Karrer Middle School Principal Brooke Menduni has seen the same in her building.
"It's been monumental," Menduni said. "The engagement students have with not only one another but within the school building has been one of the biggest difference makers in my career."
Several principals and superintendents also said their school cafeterias and hallways are noisy again because students talk face-to-face rather than on their phones.
Menduni is very glad her district took the lead on this issue.
"It's not to say after school they're not back on cell phones and devices, but teachers are able to teach, students are able to learn and we feel like a community again," she said.
The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.