Ohio governor pushes for statewide ban on cell phones in schools
Updated: 10:31 AM EDT Apr 8, 2025
Well good morning everybody. Today I’m joined by State Senator Jane Tempkin. Uh, former Second Lady Tina Hosted. Um Andy Brenner and John Marshhausen, superintendent of WC schools, as well as my wife Fran. We’re all here today in support of new legislation that is designed to accomplish exactly what I called for in my state of the state address last month, banning cellphones in Ohio in our schools once and for all. Uh, it’s time to do that. In Last year’s state of the state, I talked about the need to take action in this area. Um, We need to be sure, uh, that our classrooms, uh, frankly, uh, are now cell phone free. Uh, Senator Timkin, uh, took the language, uh, that was actually passed, uh, or that we talked about in the state of the state. Uh, and created *** stand-alone bill, uh, Senate bill. 158 Uh, that bill will ban student cell phone use, uh, during school hours. I want to thank her, uh, for taking that, that action. Uh, it’s really time for us to do this. We all know that screen time is, is very, very addictive. Uh, cell phone hazards though go even beyond that. Just having *** phone nearby means students are receiving constant notifications all day long. Those notifications make it nearly impossible for students to focus and to learn. Studies consistently show that access to cell phones during school hours negatively impacts student learning and academic performance. Furthermore, these phones uh can be incredibly harmful to students’ mental and emotional health. They expose our kids to things like cyberbullying. Uh, sex torsion, which means that students are blackmailed with private sensitive images, videos, or information. Both of these factors increase the risk of suicide among our children. Tina Hosted and her husband, John, our former lieutenant governor and Ohio’s newest US senator, have been really leaders for *** long, long time in protecting our kids from these hazards. And they’ve been working hard to make *** difference. I want to thank them for all their work and advocating for our kids’ safety online. We’ll hear in *** few moments, uh, from Tina. Last year Uh, as I said, I asked this legislature. To require every school district uh in the state. To come up with *** plan, *** plan to minimize uh the use of cellphones in schools. As *** result of that, our schools have really started to look at this. Many, many of them have already come up with, with plans. I think the results have been very good. We’ve heard repeatedly from teachers, principals, school board members, superintendents, and parents who say that when cell phones are banned during the school day, schools transform before their very eyes. They said that their kids are focused in the classroom. The lunchroom is noisy once again. Kids are actually talking to each other. The lunchroom, uh, is, is just different, they’ve told us. The kids are actually talking instead of burying their heads and their phones. The superintendents and principals and teachers tell us student engagement and attendance have actually improved, grades are better, socialization is improving and becoming more positive. The number of students being disciplined is down. All the numbers have improved. Even communication between students and teachers has improved because they have more opportunities just to interact with each other. As *** country and as *** state. We’ve learned much in this past year. Again, *** year ago, we asked for the studies or for the plans to the schools to study this, schools to come up with uh *** plan and to implement that, that plan. But as we’ve looked at this and what has happened, uh, and I’ve seen the great, great results from the schools that have actually banned the cell phones, um, I think the jury is really, really returned on this issue. Uh, I think it, the evidence clearly shows from what we’ve seen across the state, uh, that every school in the state needs to ban the phones. It’s time for us to finish the job. It’s time to ban cell phones in every Ohio school.
Ohio governor pushes for statewide ban on cell phones in schools
Updated: 10:31 AM EDT Apr 8, 2025
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced his support for a bill that would ban student use of cell phones during the school day in Ohio.”We all know screen time is very addictive, cell phone hazards go even beyond that,” DeWine said during the presser Tuesday.Senate Bill 158, sponsored by Sen. Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township), has similar language to the one DeWine introduced as part of his executive budget proposal.”Unplug our children, so they can plug themselves into a brighter future and thrive,” Timken said. DeWine recently enacted a new law last year that requires school districts to implement policies to address the use of cell phones in schools. Many across the state, including in Cincinnati initiated policies even before that. On Tuesday, DeWine called that law the “first step” toward banning cell phones in schools.”It’s time to finish the job. It’s time to ban cell phones in every Ohio school,” DeWine said Tuesday.Other lawmakers and Ohio leaders spoke during the press conference, backing DeWine’s support for the bill.Tina Husted, the wife of former Lt. Gov., now Ohio U.S. Senator Jon Husted, spoke on her support for the ban.They also touched on the recently signed “Braden’s Law,” a bill making sexual extortion a felony in the state of Ohio.The bill is named after Braden Markus, a 15-year-old from the Columbus area, who was the victim of a financial sextortion scam three years ago.DeWine stated the bill would allow for exceptions in certain situations where a cell phone may be necessary.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced his support for a bill that would ban student use of cell phones during the school day in Ohio.
“We all know screen time is very addictive, cell phone hazards go even beyond that,” DeWine said during the presser Tuesday.
Senate Bill 158, sponsored by Sen. Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township), has similar language to the one DeWine introduced as part of his executive budget proposal.
“Unplug our children, so they can plug themselves into a brighter future and thrive,” Timken said.
DeWine recently enacted a new law last year that requires school districts to implement policies to address the use of cell phones in schools. Many across the state, including in Cincinnati initiated policies even before that.
On Tuesday, DeWine called that law the “first step” toward banning cell phones in schools.
“It’s time to finish the job. It’s time to ban cell phones in every Ohio school,” DeWine said Tuesday.
Other lawmakers and Ohio leaders spoke during the press conference, backing DeWine’s support for the bill.
Tina Husted, the wife of former Lt. Gov., now Ohio U.S. Senator Jon Husted, spoke on her support for the ban.
They also touched on the recently signed “Braden’s Law,” a bill making sexual extortion a felony in the state of Ohio.
The bill is named after Braden Markus, a 15-year-old from the Columbus area, who was the victim of a financial sextortion scam three years ago.
DeWine stated the bill would allow for exceptions in certain situations where a cell phone may be necessary.
This article was originally published by a www.wlwt.com . Read the Original article here. .