Montana governor wants cell-phone ban in schools: 'Students should be focused on learning'

Gov. Greg Gianforte wants Montana’s schools to be cell-phone free schools.

In a letter to school superintendents and school board trustees, Gianforte wrote about limiting learning distractions and improving academic performance, things Gianforte believes can be achieved by schools having no cell phone policies.

“Students should be focused on learning,” the governor said. "Unfortunately, cell phones distract students and disrupt the learning environment, and according to studies, it leads to learning loss and lower grades.”

Citing studies on cell phone usage, Gianforte wrote that nearly nine out of 10 teenagers own a smartphone. For 8-to-12-year-olds, it is 43 percent, and nearly all (97 percent) of students 11-to-17 years old use cell phones during school hours for non-educational purposes such as texting, playing games, accessing social media, and watching videos.

“As I talk with educators and parents throughout our state, they often tell me about the negative impacts of cell phones in the learning environment,” said the governor. “Nationally, and in Montana, we see academic performance declining and rates of mental health disorders, from anxiety and depression to eating disorders among young people increasing.”

Based on these and other issues, the governor wrote that it is “for the education and health of our students” that all Montana schools adopt a cell phone free policy.

Some Montana school districts have already adopted such policies, but Gianforte’s letter is the first effort from a statewide official in Montana to make such a push for all schools.

The governor informed educators that his office will assist any schools that need assistance, and the governor’s office will work with education leaders and health officials to implement policies. The governor also promised to follow up with educators to “see how the development and implementation policy is going.”