Bipartisan K-12 cell phone ban bill hits Kansas Senate, swift passage expected

Kansas Senate leaders of both parties Tuesday proposed a bill banning cell phones in the state’s K-12 schools.

In a remarkable show of bipartisanship, Republican Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi, R-Andale, and Democrat Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, announced Senate Bill 302 – which they already predict will be passed this month and sent to the House.

“Senate Bill 302 is a high priority of lawmakers,” their joint press release reads. “The Senate has 28 co-sponsors, more than 2/3 of the Senate. The legislation impacts both public and private schools accredited by the Kansas State Department of Education.”

“Phone-free schools give students space to think, build authentic human relationships, and protect student mental health from constant digital pressure,” Blasi said in the release. “The longer phones stay in classrooms, the harder it becomes to undo the damage.” 

“Studies show,” Sykes added, “that classrooms without phones have more engaged students leading to face-to-face conversations, stronger peer relationships, safer school environments and better academic outcomes. Kansas has world class teachers and world class schools and we need to keep it that way and this legislation helps us do that.”

It’s officially a trend: As The Lion reports, New Jersey is likely to join a growing list of states, cities, schools and school districts with such a ban. Gov. Phil Murphy, who leaves office later this month, is expected to sign a ban approved by the legislature just before Christmas.

“Students benefit from having a bell-to-bell prohibition on cellphones,” New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin told the media. “I think it’s that clear and that simple, and I think that’s what we did today.”

Sykes tells The Lion she hopes the bill is an example of bipartisanship for the entirety of the country.

“I think there’s a lot of issues that on the surface we agree on,” she said. “The devil is in the details. But I am very pleased. The majority leader and I work very well together and we have been in conversations about this actual piece of legislation for about a year. So, I am happy that we came to an agreement.

“The majority leader and I have introduced several pieces of legislation together. We did one on child tax credits, and it didn’t go anywhere because it does have a high fiscal note. But I am always open to working across party lines, and am excited about this one because it did get a lot of co-sponsors. …

“Unfortunately, I think it’s these [agreed-upon] issues that don’t really hit the media. We like to talk about the divisiveness, but I think this is a really good piece of legislation that will affect our children in Kansas, and hopefully it does get highlighted.

“The majority leader and I, and even the president and I, we do talk weekly. The majority leader and I — he has young kids, my kids are young adults — we try to see things through the each other’s viewpoint and work through those differences. And I respect that relationship.

“We are actually truly friends, and I think that makes a difference. When you’re friends, you can have those hard discussions and disagree on policy, but you have a respect for each other. That is something that I cherish. And I do hope that we can show the rest of the country how you can disagree on some policy but still be friends and work together on other pieces of legislation and find compromise.”

Blasi readily agrees.

“The minority leader and I work together on a wide range of issues, but I believe this legislation rises above the rest,” he said in a statement to The Heartlander. “It is about putting our children first and strengthening the future of our state. As legislators, our job is to do what is right for Kansas, and this is the right decision for our students.”