Arizona’s Hobbs, Horne find common ground on school cellphone ban

PHOENIX – Arizona’s Democratic governor and Republican superintendent of public instruction don’t agree on much.

But they found common ground on at least one issue: a school cellphone ban.

Hobbs signed HB2484 on Monday after it passed through both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support.

The legislation requires public district and charter governing bodies to enact policies regarding internet use, including restrictions on wireless devices during school hours.

“I hear from school administrators and teachers that cellphone use in schools is a big problem,” Hobbs told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Tuesday. “It’s a distraction from the classroom. We hear about mental health issues, especially among children with social media use. That’s compounded when they’re using it at school.”

Hobbs vetoed a different cellphone ban last year but thinks this one is better written.

“This bill, I think, really strikes the right balance,” she said.

Tom Horne explains support for school cellphone ban

Horne agreed with Hobbs that the law is necessary, even though some districts already have their own cellphone bans.

“No teacher in our state should have to teach a class where the students are scrolling on their cellphones while the teacher’s trying to teach them something,” Horne told KTAR News’ Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday. “It’s ridiculous. It’s patently absurd to permit anything like that in any of our schools.”

The bill has exceptions for students who need their devices for medical reasons and for educational purposes as directed by a teacher.

Horne said parents who might be concerned about their kids not having their phones during an emergency don’t fully understand the established protocols in such a situation.

“In case of an emergency, students would not have their cellphones,” he said. “The first thing teachers do … is collect the cellphones.”

Horne explained that this has long been standard procedure to make sure students pay attention to instructions and to keep the wireless network from getting overwhelmed, which could interfere with emergency communications.

“If they’re all on their cellphones, it’s going to be total chaos,” he said.

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