Devices in Public Schools
SB 178 creates a statewide rule limiting student use of cellphones, smart watches, and other “emerging technology” during classroom hours in Utah public schools. The bill defines those devices broadly, covering smartphones, feature phones, satellite phones, personal digital assistants with similar capabilities, and wearable devices that function as cellphone extensions. It also defines “classroom hours” to mean scheduled, teacher-supervised instruction during regular school hours, including instruction in physical or virtual classrooms, while excluding lunch, recess, passing periods, and most study time or after-school activities.
Under the bill, each local education agency must adopt a policy that allows device use for specific exceptions, including imminent threats to health or safety, school-wide emergencies, use of the SafeUT Crisis Line, IEP or Section 504 accommodations, and medical necessity. LEAs may also create additional exceptions and may extend restrictions beyond classroom hours to lunch, transitions, and other school-supervised activities. The State Board of Education is authorized to create model policies consistent with the law. The bill has no appropriation and takes effect July 1, 2025.
The bill enacts a new Utah Code section, 53G-7-226, establishing a statewide baseline prohibition on student use of cellphones, smart watches, and similar devices during classroom hours. It affects public schools and local education agencies by requiring them to adopt compliant policies and by allowing, but not requiring, broader restrictions outside classroom time. It also preserves accommodations and safety-related uses, and it gives the State Board of Education authority to issue model policies to guide implementation.
The voting record suggests the bill was generally well received and not highly controversial. It advanced unanimously in both committee votes and passed the Senate and House by large margins, with only a small number of dissenting votes in each chamber. That pattern indicates broad legislative support for restricting classroom device use while preserving limited exceptions for safety, health, and accommodations.
The main policy tension in the bill is between limiting distractions in class and preserving flexibility for schools, students, and families. Support appears to center on classroom management, reduced disruption, and improved focus, while the built-in exceptions reflect concerns about emergencies, mental health access through SafeUT, disability accommodations, and medical needs. The bill also leaves room for local education agencies to adopt stricter rules beyond classroom hours, which may be viewed as either helpful local control or an expansion of school authority depending on the stakeholder.