A state Senate committee deferred a bill last month that would have banned student cellphone use at public schools statewide after the 91直播 Board of Education adopted similar — yet more flexible — rules.
House Bill 1559 sought to prohibit pupils from using telecommunication devices on school grounds during the instructional day — except in highly specific circumstances — beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Exceptions to the rule included when cellphones were required for educational programs, medical purposes, during emergencies or when permitted by teachers and administrators.
Critics of the bill denounced it because of what they perceived as its heavy-handedness. The bill states that confiscated devices could only be released to parents or legal guardians, and phones not retrieved after three months would be forfeited to the school for disposal or repurposing.
The BOE policies instituted in February include a similar ban on cellphone use at elementary and intermediate schools, but allow high schoolers to use their phones during breaks, recess and free periods, and allow for confiscation but not forfeiture.
The Senate Committee on Education moved to indefinitely defer the measure on March 20, effectively letting it die after a slate of testifiers — including a public high school student — voiced their opposition to what they felt were unnecessarily harsh policies.
The bill was co-introduced by several 91直播 Island lawmakers, including Reps. Nicole Lowen, Matthias Kusch, David Tarnas and Greggor Ilagan. Some of the lawmakers endorsed the bill because of concerns about cellphones’ effects on student mental health and learning ability.
“I support(ed) it because I think phones are a huge distraction from learning,” Lowen said. “Also, with all that we have learned about how social media apps affect teens’ mental health and how they are designed to be addictive — I just think that to provide at least a few hours in the day away from that can only be positive.”
Legislators let the bill stall due to the BOE implementing more tailored cellphone policies which, according to some, removed the need for the measure.
“It didn’t need to move further, and that’s the reason it was deferred,” Ilagan said about HB 1559. “If DOE is not going to create the policy, then we will show you and give you some policies that you can work from. And if that doesn’t work … then we’ll push it. But if the DOE is willing to now work out some policies to ensure that we have an effective learning environment for students, then we are more than happy with that.”
During the committee hearing last month, committee chair Sen. Donna Mercado Kim explained that if the DOE and BOE were implementing their own rules, the bill had become unnecessary.
“(We’re) acknowledging that the DOE and BOE have been working on this and that they have finally come up with a policy, and they are working on guidelines and (we’re going to) give them that opportunity to put that all together,” Kim said. “I’m not one that feels that we need a bill for everything, and if the departments can handle this within their realm, then they should be allowed to do that.”
Mililani High School junior Nina LoPresti testified in opposition to the bill, echoing the committee chair’s sentiments about its superfluousness, and claimed that it bordered on hypocrisy considering some schools notify students through their phones.
“Personal devices have already been restricted in many schools,” LoPresti said. “This bill is unnecessary, redundant and could harm student education … high schools use social media accounts to engage their students in activities, deadlines and schedule changes. Taking away these crucial social and communication tools is unreasonable, particularly when the school itself encourages their use.”
There also were testimonies in support of the bill, including from 91直播 State Teachers Association member Sarah Milianta-Laffin.
“We appreciate the intent of this bill, because I will tell you one thing teachers are tired of being is the phone police,” Milianta-Laffin said. “It’s like ‘Whac-A-Mole,’ where they get one out and you put one away and back and forth.”
She said the bill’s provision shielding teachers and administrators from liability for loss or damage to confiscated phones was a welcome protection.
“What concerns me is … if I take a phone from a kid and I put it on my desk and I go back to teaching because that’s my job, if I’m not watching that and that device disappears, then what happens?” she asked the committee. “Is it my fault the device is lost? If it’s not locked and secured, that liability issue really makes teachers uncomfortable, so we appreciate that part of it.”
Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
