Should Florida school cellphone bans include lunchtime?
Tampa Bay Times | By Jeffrey S. Solochek | March 6, 2025
A roundup of Florida education news from around the state
The big story: The trend of restricting student cellphone use in school has gained momentum across the nation since Florida lawmakers adopted limitations in 2023. In the past month alone, officials in New York, Missouri, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have taken steps to ban cellphones in classrooms.
Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers are considering additional constraints.
State Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, has proposed creating a pilot program (SB 1296) to explore the viability of prohibiting cellphone use whenever students are on campus or participating in school-sponsored activities off campus.
The proposal caught the eye of Hillsborough County school board member Lynn Gray. She asked her colleagues this week if they’d like to stop students from using their phones at lunchtime, which district policy currently allows in high schools, without waiting for lawmakers.
Gray said students have used phones to cheat on coursework, coordinate fights, bully one another, and more. “I can guarantee you, our teenagers are in bad shape from cellphone use,” Gray said during a workshop.
The idea didn’t get far. Other board members raised objections, saying some students use their phones to decompress during down time. Some have other legitimate reasons to have their phones out, they added, such as communicating with their parents or jobs. Plus, enforcement could be problematic.
“What are we going to do? Expel a kid or change placement for a kid or suspend a kid for cellphones? We decided not to do that,” said board member Henry “Shake” Washington, a veteran former principal.
The board decided to wait and see what, if anything, the Florida Legislature does. In the meantime, chairperson Jessica Vaughn suggested the district work on maintaining its current rules.
“While I appreciate Hillsborough County wanting to be on the forefront of everything, I also think that sometimes we can sit back and let some other counties test things out so we can see what is best practice for our students and for our teachers,” Vaughn said.
Hot topics
Bus cameras: Miami-Dade County superintendent Jose Dotres instructed the district’s police chief to work with the county Sheriff’s Office to fix the process for issuing citations to drivers accused of illegally passing stopped school buses, the Miami Herald reports. Drivers have said they received tickets despite having done nothing wrong.
Diversity, equity and inclusion: Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice is celebrating the creation of an “End DEI” portal as the culmination of her group’s efforts, Florida Today reports.
Early education: Hillsborough County elementary schools have launched an incentive program to encourage kindergarten attendance, WFTS reports.
Ending the USDOE: Central Florida education advocates are calling on the federal government to protect public schools amid the anticipated gutting of the U.S. Department of Education, Central Florida Public Media reports. President Trump has issued a draft action to eliminate the department and could make an announcement as early as today, NPR reports.
Gender issues: President Trump spoke of a Leon County family’s battle with their school district over the treatment of their non-binary child during his State of the Union. The facts are more complicated than his comments, PolitiFact reports. Leon County superintendent Rocky Hanna called Trump’s presentation “reprehensible,” the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
Immigration enforcement: Dozens of advocacy groups are asking the Florida Department of Education to issue clear guidance on how schools should deal with federal immigration enforcement, Central Florida Public Media reports. • The Pinellas County school district’s police department has applied to participate in immigration enforcement, Florida Phoenix reports. • Alachua County principals will serve as the primary contact for immigration agents that seek access to schools and students, MainStreet Daily News reports.
Legislation: State Sen. Tom Leek wants to end state contracts and grants to colleges and universities that discriminate against Israel, Florida Politics reports. • The president of Lee County’s teacher union worries that legislation to add new membership requirements for teacher unions would hurt the district’s effort to fill its nearly 200 teaching vacancies, WINK reports.
University spending: Florida’s university faculty have questions about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal to audit and cut programs and funding at their schools, the USF Oracle reports. • A state House committee has begun reviewing schools already under scrutiny by state auditors, Politico Florida reports.
From the court docket … The Broward County school district reached a settlement with a transportation worker who sued the district alleging it did not accommodate his faith, Bloomberg Law reports.
Today in Tallahassee … The House Student Academic Success subcommittee will discuss supports for students when it meets at 9 a.m. • The House Industries and Professional Activities subcommittee will consider HB 195 on education in correctional facilities for licensed professions when it meets at 1 p.m.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go … Any Fifth Element fans out there?
