Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an education bill package on Friday that includes a ban on cell phone use for elementary and middle school students, as well as limitations for high schoolers during instructional time.
The package is part of other provisions under HB 1105.
Rep. Jennifer Kincart Johnson (R-Lakeland) sponsored the bill in the House. Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) carried the comparable Senate version.
Under the bill, Florida K-8 students are prohibited from using cell phones, including for social media purposes. High school students are also not allowed, except when permitted by a teacher for academic uses.
Moreover, the law will explore full-scale cell phone bans in high schools at the direction of the Florida Department of Education across six diverse school districts.
"This will allow us to take a closer look at phone-free school campuses, which I believe can encourage students to connect more personally with each other and their teachers and better support their academic efforts," Burgess said after filing a similar measure.
Notably, the bill is an expansion of a 2023 law passed by the Florida Legislature banning the use of cell phones during instructional time.
In addition, HB 1105 will allow municipalities to apply to convert a public school into a job engine charter school, a school designed to attract and support job-producing entities. To be considered, the existing school would need to have a letter grade below "A" for five consecutive years.
You can view the determinations of the state's school grading scale by clicking here.
The law goes into effect on July 1.
