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Mass. House to vote on youth social media ban, strict school cellphone ban
State lawmakers are supportive of the bans, while cities like Quincy are taking steps on their own to restrict cellphone use in schools.
Massachusetts officials are continuing to push for policies that would severely restrict social media and cellphone use for young people.
Lawmakers on Beacon Hill are preparing to vote on legislation this week that would both ban children under the age of 14 from using social media and prohibit students from using cellphones during the school day. At the same time, Quincy is on the verge of becoming the latest city to enact its own school cellphone ban.
The state Senate overwhelmingly approved of a bill that would require all public school districts to adopt “bell-to-bell” cellphone bans last summer. Now, Democratic leaders in the House say they are ready to go a step further.
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In addition to enacting school phone bans, their proposed bill would bar children under 14 from using social media entirely and require that 14 and 15-year-olds obtain parental consent before using the platforms. Users aged 16 and older would not face restrictions, according to State House News Service.
The House plans to vote Wednesday on the measures.
“This ban would be among the most restrictive in the entire country, helping to protect young people from harmful content and addictive algorithms that have a proven negative impact on their mental health,” House Speaker Ron Mariano and House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said in a joint statement to SHNS. Their offices did not return requests for comment Monday.
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Under the House bill, social media companies would have to establish age verification systems to vet current and prospective users. Data submitted by minor users would be made available to their parents. The attorney general’s office would be tasked with crafting regulations by Sept. 1, and those policies would go into effect a month later, according to SHNS.
The House is also set to vote on a measure that would require school districts to have policies that prohibit the use of personal electronic devices during the school day. State officials would have to provide guidance to school districts on how to formulate and implement school cellphone bans. The state would be required to create a 10-district pilot program.
If the House approves of the measures on Wednesday, a conference committee of lawmakers from both the House and the Senate are expected to draft consensus legislation for both branches to vote on, SHNS reported.
Gov. Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and many other influential elected officials in Massachusetts have increased their public skepticism of social media companies and the negative impact that they can have on young people. During her State of the Commonwealth address earlier this year, Healey pushed for social media companies to require parental consent and age verification.
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“These platforms are built with addictive algorithms, and they exploit insecurities, especially in our young people,” she said. “We’re going to prevent social media companies from targeting kids for profit. Parents are trying to protect their kids, and we’re going to help them do it.”
About 74% of American adults support banning middle and high school students from using cellphones during class, according to data the Pew Research Center released last year. About 41% of American teenagers between the ages 13 to 17 support that kind of ban, but only about 20% support full day, or “bell-to-bell,” phone bans.
Quincy nears school cellphone ban
School officials in Quincy are not waiting for the state to act. District leaders have crafted a strict all-day cellphone ban that they presented to the School Committee’s subcommittee for policy last week. The subcommittee members unanimously voted to move the measure out of committee, and it is expected to be considered by the full School Committee on Wednesday.
Under the policy, every middle and high school student would be given a secure pouch made by the company Yondr to store their phones in during the school day. The pouches magnetically lock and can generally only be unlocked by a special magnet monitored by staff members. Students would be required to turn off their phones at the beginning of the school day and lock them in their pouches under staff supervision. Students would be responsible for carrying and storing their pouches before they are unlocked at the end of the day.
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The current policy in Quincy schools requires that students turn their phones off and put them away during classes. Phone use is not restricted during lunch or between classes. But administrators say the policy is simply not working. Administrators formulated the new policy after fielding complaints from concerned teachers, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins said during the subcommittee meeting last week.
Instead of being able to focus on their lessons, teachers are often forced to argue with students over phone usage, Perkins said. The new policy would decrease in-classroom distractions, fight social media addiction, and encourage students to engage with their peers in a face-to-face manner throughout the school day, she said.
“Teachers should be focused on teaching their classes, and the students should be focused on learning,” she said. “I don’t think anybody would argue about the information that is now available about the damage that the reliance on cellphones does to children.”
Quincy School Committee Member Tina Cahill said that she recently spoke with a Taunton School Committee member about that district’s recent school cellphone ban. Since the policy was implemented in Taunton, grades are improving while bullying, suspensions, fighting, and cheating are decreasing, she said.
“There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to get content out to kids, and they’re not paying attention,” Cahill said. “I feel like, 100%, this is the direction we should be going in.”
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