Nearly halfway through the 2025 legislative session in Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey is pushing for state lawmakers to pass bills banning cell phones in public schools and granting teachers and state employees parental leave, both of which she named as key priorities during her State of the State address in February.
“Our students’ education remains my top priority,” Ivey said Wednesday, speaking at a Montgomery Chamber of Commerce event at the RSA Activity Center. “…One of my priorities for this legislative session is to pass what we are calling the Focus Act.”
Exemptions
Sponsored in the House by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, and in the Senate by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, the legislation would require local boards of education to ban student cell phone use during instructional time. Exemptions are provided under some circumstances, such as life-threatening situations or for educational purposes under supervision.
A cell phone ban at schools, Ivey argued, is needed to help Alabama continue its efforts to reform and improve education, noting that the state saw significant progress in national rankings as it pertains to reading in math, climbing from being ranked 49th and 52nd, respectively, to 34th and 32nd for specific grade levels.
“Our efforts are paying off, and we are not relenting, we will continue investing in proven programs like the Literacy and Numeracy Acts, we will keep supporting our Turnaround Schools Initiative to target some of our lowest-performing schools,” she said. “We will continue allowing these successful education reform policies to take shape, while taking an active approach to do everything we can to support students, teachers and parents.”
In early 2024, the Alabama State Board of Education adopted a resolution to recommend school boards consider instituting their own bans on cell phone use during school hours. With the last state-level effort to curb the use of electronics being a bill regulating the use of pagers in schools in 1989, Ivey argued it was high time to combat the issue.
‘Distracting students’
“According to a recent survey, 72% of high school teachers in the country reported that cell phones are distracting students,” she said, referring to a recent Pew Research study.
Ivey also championed two companion bills currently making their way through the Legislature that would grant eight weeks of fully paid paternity leave to female teachers and state employees, and two weeks to male teachers and state employees.
“We should also ensure that our teachers are well equipped,” she said. “This includes having paid parental leave, and I am hopeful that we can accomplish that this session.”
‘Pro-family,’ ‘pro-workforce’
The bills are sponsored by Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, and Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, and have been described by Ivey as “pro-family” and “pro-workforce.”
The Senate version of the bill passed in the Senate last week in a vote of 28–3, though questions remain about how much it will end up costing the state. Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, who chairs the House education budget committee, previously said he hopes to have a detailed breakdown of the potential cost of the proposal before it’s brought on the House floor for a vote.
On the proposal to ban cell phone use at public schools, the Senate version of the bill is awaiting a vote in that chamber, whereas the House version was carried over on the floor last week.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alexander Willis and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
Share with others: