{"id":293088,"date":"2025-04-28T16:06:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T21:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=293088"},"modified":"2025-04-28T16:06:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T21:06:35","slug":"armstrong-highlights-benefits-to-phone-free-k-12-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=293088","title":{"rendered":"Armstrong Highlights Benefits to Phone-Free Public Schools\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BISMARCK, N.D. (APRIL 25, 2025)<\/strong> \u2013 A new law requiring K-12 public schools in North Dakota to adopt phone-free school policies may be the most impactful legislation of this session, Gov. Kelly Armstrong said as he signed the bill today surrounded by students, school officials, legislators and First Lady Kjersti Armstrong at Centennial Elementary School in Bismarck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Bill 1160 requires all personal electronic communication devices to be securely stowed and inaccessible to students during instructional time from the start of the school day until dismissal at the end of the day \u2013 commonly referred to as a \u201cbell-to-bell\u201d phone-free policy. The law becomes effective Aug. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a game changer for our public schools, giving students the freedom to focus on learning and to interact with teachers and friends without the constant tug of their cell phones and addictive social media,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cWe appreciate the legislators, education leaders, teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders who worked incredibly hard to pass this bill in just four weeks, because this can\u2019t wait two more years. We need to act now for the academic success, mental health and overall well-being of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong and Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden championed the phone-free schools legislation with State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler, HB 1160 lead sponsor Rep. Jim Jonas, Sen. Michelle Axtman and others through bill amendments introduced in late March. The amended version of HB 1160 passed the Senate 42-4 and the House 82-8 last week.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Baesler noted at least 25 states have laws or policies that ban or restrict students\u2019 use of electronics in school or encourage local districts to enact their own policies. She said that during her more than 12 years as state superintendent, she has heard from teachers with increasing urgency that student mental health challenges have become overwhelming, making it challenging to teach even the most basic material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had to ask ourselves \u2013 are we willing to take steps to prevent the student mental health crisis from getting worse? House Bill 1160 takes those steps. It limits student use of personal electronic devices during school hours, with appropriate exceptions for instructional or medical reasons,\u201d Baesler said. \u201cThis law gives students the gift of attention, connection, and presence. We are removing the constant pull of comparison and distraction and replacing it with space to learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal still allows for the use of tablets and other school-issued electronic devices for learning, while also including exceptions for students who need personal electronic devices for medical reasons or as part of an individual education plan, or IEP. Schools will have flexibility in deciding how to stow personal electronic devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bismarck Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Fastnacht commended the governor, first lady and lieutenant governor for their leadership in supporting student well-being and academic success through the signing of HB 1160, saying it \u201creflects a shared understanding of the importance of minimizing unnecessary distractions during the school day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Bismarck Public Schools, we are committed to ensuring our classrooms remain places where students can focus, engage meaningfully with their peers and teachers, and grow both academically and socially. This legislation reinforces that commitment and provides clarity for schools, families, and communities as we work together to foster environments where learning thrives,\u201d Fastnacht said. \u201cWe appreciate the state\u2019s partnership in prioritizing the needs of North Dakota students and look forward to continued collaboration to support effective learning environments across Bismarck and throughout the great state of North Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonas, the West Fargo lawmaker who sponsored HB 1160 and introduced the phone-free amendments with Axtman, said the bill is \u201cthe culmination of a decade and a half of North Dakota schools trying to negotiate cell phone policies, trying to solve the problem of how much it distracts students from being engaged in learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEducators have been advocating for tougher and more uniform approaches that allow them to spend more time teaching in their classrooms and less time policing cell phone use,\u201d Jonas said. \u201cTeachers don’t want to be the phone police. They want to teach.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BISMARCK, N.D. (APRIL 25, 2025) \u2013 A new law requiring K-12 public schools in North Dakota to adopt phone-free school policies may be the most impactful legislation of this session, Gov. Kelly Armstrong said as he signed the bill today surrounded by students, school officials, legislators and First Lady Kjersti […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":293090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=293088"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293092,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293088\/revisions\/293092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/293090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=293088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=293088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=293088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}