Mark Kelly Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Keep Cell Phones Out of Schools

Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) are teaming up to introduce a bipartisan bill to ban cell phone use during school hours.

What the Bill Does

Sen. Kelly's Utilize No Phones in Learning to Unleash Growth in Grades and Educate Distraction-free (UNPLUGGED) Schools Grant Act establishes a federal grant program for states that adopt no-phones policies to help maintain them, with funds going toward secure storage options like lockers, lock boxes, and phone pouches.

Additionally, schools must create no-phones policies in coordination with school districts, parents, educators, and students to preserve communication on time-sensitive issues, such as changes in pickup times, and to include exceptions for health, disability, or special-needs reasons.

What Kelly and Cotton are Saying

"Phones in schools have been a disaster for learning," said Sen. Kelly in a press release, adding, "Getting phones out of classrooms will mean fewer distractions and more time for kids to focus on their teachers and lessons. We're giving schools the tools to make that happen."

Similarly, Sen. Cotton stated, "Arkansas kids deserve classrooms free of distractions. This bill would support Arkansas public schools that choose to tailor their classroom cellphone guidance to ensure students have the most productive school days possible."

Previous Education Work

In April, Kelly introduced the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act, which repeals the federal voucher program established in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), saying, "What have universal school vouchers done for Arizona? They've set back students' education, wasted taxpayer money, and taken resources from public schools. I'm fighting to protect public education, because Republicans' national school voucher program will only make this worse."

In July, the Arizona Senator spearheaded a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the reversal of plans to transfer special education programs and civil rights enforcement out of the Department of Education (ED), arguing, "Special education and vocational rehabilitation are education programs. Any attempt to move these programs to HHS would fundamentally alter the purposes of these services, upending fifty years of work that took place at the federal, state, and local level to improve educational and employment outcomes for people with disabilities."