Caitlin Yamada
SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City Superintendent Rod Earleywine spoke about a recent proposal by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds that would bar students from having their cellphones in the classroom.
"We're ahead of that by a couple of years with our cell phone policy, but she wants a blank law that deals with cell phones in schools," Earleywine said. "Personally, I think school districts should just handle that themselves, like we have."
Reynolds pitched her proposal last week during an interview with the Washington D.C. bureau for a group of Iowa television stations.
"Gov. Reynolds believes Iowa students deserve the opportunity to learn free from the distraction of personal electronic devices. Iowa kids should have the freedom to focus and be fully engaged in their education," Reynolds' spokesman, Mason Mauro, said in an email.
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Proponents of such bans say they prevent students from being distracted during school instruction time and also help address concerns about students' mental health.
The Sioux City district has had a policy restricting cell phone use since the 2022-23 school year. The policy was put in place after the district reviewed a district behavior survey, in which cell phones were determined to be a distractor.
The policy differs for elementary, middle and high school students. At the elementary level, students are not allowed any kind of mobile phone, smartwatch or headphones during the school day. At the middle school level, students are not allowed the same devices during the day. If they have good behavior, the school principal can decide to allow the devices during non-instructional time.
At the high school level, students are allowed to use their devices during non-instructional time, such as passing periods, lunch and before or after school.
While students shared their displeasure with the policy, district administration shared they received numerous positive comments from parents and teachers regarding the policy, stating it was improving behavior in the classrooms.
Eight states had banned cellphones in classrooms as of Nov. 4, according to KFF, a nonprofit health care news and advocacy organization. The states with statewide bans on phones in the classroom are Minnesota, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana and California, according to KFF.
Another 12 states -- including Iowa -- have introduced legislation that would ban or restrict cellphone use in classrooms, and education departments in nine more states have recommended policies or pilot programs designed to ban or restrict cellphones in schools, according to KFF.
It is unclear whether state lawmakers would support a ban on cellphones in the classroom, even with Reynolds' fellow Republicans holding majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature.
A spokeswoman for Iowa House Republicans pointed to legislation considered in that chamber during the 2024 session that would have required school districts to adopt a policy that restricts the use of cellphones during classroom instruction, but did not ban phones from the classroom. That bill did not advance far enough to be passed into law.
Melissa Saitz, the spokeswoman for Iowa House Republicans, said she believes the topic will come up during the 2025 legislative session, and that House Republicans will be seeking feedback from Iowans on the topic.
She said it is too early to say whether House Republicans will support a full ban on phones in the classroom, but it will "definitely be a discussion" during the session.
"We have heard from so many teachers that cellphones are a huge distraction preventing kids from learning," Saitz said.
A spokeswoman for the Iowa State Education Association, the statewide union that represents public schoolteachers, said the union will not comment at this time since there is not yet a "specific proposal."
The 2025 session of the Iowa Legislature begins Jan. 13. Gov. Kim Reynolds likely will give her annual Condition of the State address on Jan. 14.
Journal Des Moines Bureau reporter Erin Murphy contributed to this story.
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Education and county government reporter
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