

By Sabine Martin & Samantha Hernandez, Des Moines Register
Des Moines, IA-Iowa’s K-12 students returning to school after summer break in August would have to put away their cellphones during class if lawmakers pass a bill Gov. Kim Reynolds is headlining as a top legislative priority this year.
The legislation, House Study Bill 106, would set a statewide “floor” to ban the devices during classroom time.
“A good case can be made for either policy or something in between — and I applaud the administrators, teachers and parents coming together to find the right balance for their communities,” Reynolds said during her Condition of the State speech. “What’s no longer acceptable is doing nothing.”
At a minimum, Iowa’s school boards would have to enact a policy to ban cellphone use during instructional time. The governor’s proposal includes “common-sense exemptions, like during an emergency,” she said.
Why is Iowa considering a cellphone ban?
According to the Pew Research Center, more than seven in 10 high school teachers say cellphone use in the classroom is a “major problem.”
“It’s unhealthy, and the results are as predictable as they are unacceptable: lost sleep, lower productivity, more distractions and increased anxiety,” Reynolds said.
Some of Iowa’s K-12 schools have already adopted student cellphone bans with varying rules, including Hoover High School in Des Moines and the Ankeny, Dallas Center-Grimes and Iowa City school districts.
Democratic leadership can agree Iowa K-12 students need to be focused in the classroom, but they said a ban on cellphone use shouldn’t be an additional burden for teachers.
“I think as long as we’re allowing local districts to make those decisions that’s best for their school,” said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, after the Condition of the State address. “She gave two different schools and how they’re handling it. That’s how it’s supposed to work, right? People know how their own communities work.”

How would the cellphone ban in K-12 schools work?
Reynolds’ bill sets a baseline ban on student cellphone use during class time, but she said schools can adopt more stringent policies.
Governing boards at Iowa’s accredited nonpublic, public, charter and innovation zone schools would have to adopt a cellphone policy for the next school year.
Health teachers in schools would be required to teach students in sixth through eighth grades about the effects of social media under the bill.

The Department of Education and Health and Human Services Department directors would need to devise professional development for educators and create a way for a parent or guardian to contact their child if there’s an emergency during school hours.
The legislation would also require school districts to spell out the discipline a student can receive for using a cellphone during class or a test. Schools must also identify a way to “securely store a student’s personal electronic device when such device is in possession of the school district,” according to the bill’s text.
Students whose guardians successfully petition their child’s access and those who have an “individualized education program, or a plan under section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, will be allowed access to cellphones, according to the bill’s text.
Do other states have similar cellphone laws?
At least 19 U.S. states have laws or policies related to banning cellphone use in K-12 schools, according to recent reporting from EducationWeek.
Lawmakers in the neighboring state of Minnesota passed a law that requires school districts to adopt a policy on student possession of cellphones by March 2025.
Have any Iowa schools implemented cellphone bans?
Several Des Moines and metro area schools including Ankeny and Dallas Center-Grimes school districts implemented cellphone restrictions ahead of the 2024-25 school year. At Des Moines Public Schools, Hoover High School is the most notable.
The Hoover cellphone policy — which focuses on improving student mental health and limiting phones in schools — has been a passion project for Assistant Principal Robert Randazzo.
“So many students (were) detached from the learning because they’re on their phone,” he said of why the school took the step.
Is Des Moines Public Schools planning a district-wide policy?
In 2024, the Des Moines School Board tasked Superintendent Ian Roberts with cellphone policy for the entire district.
“This is an intervention,” Des Moines school board member Patrick Dix said in November. “This is not a policy. This is an intervention for our kids because they are addicted to their phones.”
The board reviewed a preliminary draft of a cellphone policy at that time.
Community members also submitted a petition asking officials to implement a policy.
Why are we so worried about cellphones’ effects on children?
Approximately 5.8 million children ages 3-17 years nationwide are diagnosed with anxiety, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Another 2.7 million have been diagnosed with depression.
Depression and anxiety among children ages 6-17 years have increased significantly, rising from 5% in 2003 to 8% in 2012, according to federal health officials.
Experts have also seen decreased attention spans and slower cognitive development in young children, said Dr. Stephen Mandler, a child psychiatrist, and chief medical officer of Orchard Place in Des Moines, in an August 2024 Des Moines Register interview.
What do the numbers look like in Iowa?
In 2021, 36% of 11th-grade Iowa students reported persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, according to that year’s Iowa Youth Survey. At the time, 29% of eighth-graders and 27% of sixth-grade students reported similar feelings.
The survey also found one in four 11th-grade students reported they thought about committing suicide in the past year. About half of those students reported they had made a plan, the report states.
The state does not plan to conduct the Iowa Youth Risk Behavior Survey in the future.