Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen testified on February 4, at the Nebraska Legislature’s education committee in support the ban of cellphones within all Nebraska schools. If this bill is adopted and signed into law, when school starts back up in the fall, students will not be able to use their phones nearly as much as they do now. The limited instances when phone usage will be allowed are: where required by a specific individual education program (IEP) or 504 plan, in cases of emergency, when it is necessary to manage a student’s health care or when allowed by that specific school board.
This legislation was first introduced by Sen. Rita Sanders, Bellevue, at Pillen’s request, for adoption for the 2025-26 school year. This ban would not just be during the school day but would also be enforced while on school property and during school functions. This ban also includes the use of enforcement mechanisms and consequences for non-compliance with the policy.
Sanders’ main reason for introducing this ban is the correlation of high phone usage and low academic performance. Pillen even testified before the Nebraska State Legislature’s Education Committee on LB-140 in favor of this ban .
“The more we can keep out of classrooms, keep them out of schools and keep our kids free of them, the better,” Pillen said when testifying before the education committee. He says the two reasons for this bill are to manage one of the biggest distractions in schools and the significant impact cellphone usage has on kids.
Other points were brought up, including giving more opportunities to the students of Nebraska schools to succeed.
“I am committed to supporting policies that prioritize the well-being and academic growth of every student. By removing electronic communication devices from the classroom, we can create that environment, allowing both teachers and students to fully succeed,” Sanders said.
Former Nebraska State Senator, Rita Sanders testified against LB140 as a spokesperson for the Nebraska Association of School Boards says that eliminating cellphone use at school functions would be difficult to implement.
One student at Lincoln High, Eloise Burns (9), is especially passionate about the subject.
“What about the small emergencies…like if a kid forgets their water-bottle,” Burns said in an interview.
Lincoln Public Schools Director of Student Services Ryan Zabawa, who is responsible for contributing to the phone policy LPS uses, says that LPS feels good about the cellphone guidelines matching up with LB-140.
“In LPS, we feel like we were out it in front of the legislative bill with our LPS electronic device guidelines. As long as we have the ability within the law to tailor it to our district needs, that ban shouldn’t be an issue,” Zabawa said in an email communication with The Advocate.
When these guidelines were first initiated, Zabawa spoke to students and said they had less homework as a result of doing it in class rather than being on their phone. But, Zabawa thinks it is too early to tell if there will have an impact on academic performance. According to a month-long study in which 467 participants took a break from their phone, Adrian Ward, psychologist at the University of Texas, said that “people had better mental health, better subjective well-being and better sustained attention.”