House Advances Student Cellphone Restrictions in Schools

TOPEKA — The Kansas House advanced a bill Monday to ban student cellphones during school hours after a marathon debate spanning afternoon and evening sessions, adopting several amendments while rejecting others during Committee of the Whole proceedings.

H Sub for Sub SB 281 would require school district boards of education and governing authorities of accredited nonpublic schools to prohibit students from using personal electronic communication devices during instructional time. The bill was championed by Rep. Jill Ward, R-Topeka, who secured an amendment making the prohibition mandatory rather than optional. Rep. Brett Fairchild, R-St. John, added a provision allowing students to use personal devices during designated open-lunch periods when they leave school grounds.

Rep. Kyle McNorton, R-Pittsburg, successfully amended the bill to clarify that schools may still use email platforms or similar communication tools to send and receive messages from students, provided those platforms are controlled and monitored by the district. Amendments offered by Rep. Jerry Stogsdill, D-Prairie Village, Rep. Carolyn Caiharr, R-Shawnee, and Rep. Suzanne Wikle, D-Lawrence, were rejected.

The cellphone ban is part of a national wave of school device restrictions driven largely by Republican legislators responding to concerns about student mental health and classroom distraction. Kansas joins more than a dozen states that have enacted or considered similar legislation. The bill was initially passed unanimously by the Senate, suggesting broad bipartisan support in that chamber, though the House debate revealed deeper divisions over implementation details. The bill now moves to final action.