Gov. Josh Stein signed into law Tuesday bipartisan legislation that bans or limits public school students’ social media use during the instructional day.
The legislature cleared on June 26.
The compromise between the House and Senate kept the Senate’s version that added restrictions on multiple electronic devices, such as cellphones, tablets, laptops, pagers, two-way radios and gaming devices.
By comparison, the House’s electronic devices legislation restricted just cellphones.
The HB959 compromise did not include the barring of school-day use of TikTok by North Carolina public school students, teachers and administrators.
“When teachers don’t have to compete with cell phones for student attention, real learning happens,†Stein said after signing HB959 into law.
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“This bipartisan bill gives students a distraction-free learning environment so they can focus on their education, and it provides a seven-hour mental break from the unrelenting pressures of phones and social media.
Local school boards would have until Jan. 1 to establish their social media policies.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ Board of Education implemented a cellphone restriction policy for the 2024-25 school year. It bars cellphone use during any time of the school day for elementary and middle school students. High schoolers may use them during lunch.
WS/FCS has a discipline protocol that ranges from meetings with parents to confiscation of the devices.
HB959 follows up on Stein’s Advisory Council on Student Safety and Well-Being initiative that released its first report in June. The main focus outlines best practices for creating cell phone-free classrooms.
Stein said the initiative “will serve as a resource for our school systems as they implement these common-sense policies.â€
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, said during the June 25 Senate floor debate the revamped bill enables North Carolina to become one of 13 states “to put some reasonable restrictions on cellphone use in schools.â€
“While I recognize that parents remain concerned about their inability to communicate with their children at school, I do believe this legislation in the future should apply to restricting the use of cellphones bell to bell, not just classroom instruction,†Chaudhuri said.
Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, said in March that the Senate’s goal with its electronic devices legislation is for it to be open-ended, meaning that “when another device comes along, it will cover that as well.â€
The HB959 compromise still does not require similar prohibitions or restrictions for private and religious schools.
The compromise kept the House’s three exemptions: if a teacher approves the use of a cellphone for educational purposes; if a cellphone is required as part of the student’s individualized education program; and the cellphone is required to help monitor a student’s health as it relates to a documented medical condition.
The House bill requires that parents be notified of cellphone restrictions before the start of each school year.
Other internet safety policies
HB959 requires local Boards of Education to implement five other student access internet safety policies that would serve as restrictions.
Those requirements would:
- Limit student access to only age-appropriate subject matter and materials.
- Establish policies that would “protect the safety and security of students when accessing email, chat rooms and other forms of electronic communication.
- Prohibit unauthorized access by students to data or information maintained by the local school administrative unit, including steps to prevent hacking and other unlawful online activities.
- Prevent access to websites, web applications or software that could be vulnerable to collecting students’ personal information.
- Keep students from accessing social media platforms, except when expressly directed by a teacher solely for educational purposes.
