‘Bell to Bell: No Cell’—Arkansas lawmakers push for classroom phone restrictions

Rep. Jon Eubanks (District 46) and Sen. Tyler Dees (Siloam Springs) have filed a joint bill in the Arkansas legislature to help mitigate the usage of smartphones and other personal electronic devices in public and open-enrollment public charter schools.

SB 142, or the “Bell to Bell: No Cell Act” bill, was read and sent to the Arkansas Senate Education Committee on Jan. 29.

The bill requires schools to implement policies and provide exemptions to limit the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices during regular school hours, on school property, and school-related functions at the start of the 2025-26 school year.

Neighboring Louisiana instituted a similar ban in the 2024-2025 school year.

The Education Committee will take up the bill on Feb. 3. Senators Cindy Crawford (Fort Smith), Justin Boyd (Fort Smith), and Jim Petty (Van Buren), Representatives Zack Gramlich (District 50) and Brad Hall (District 24) are some of the bill’s co-sponsors.

“I think we can all agree cell phones are a serious distraction for students,” said Eubanks. “This legislation will limit that distraction so that phones do not interfere with the learning process.”

The bill requires schools to submit their policies and exemptions regarding a student’s possession and use of a personal electronic device to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education for review. Once that process is completed, the school district must post the policy on its website, outlining the use of such devices.

“Arkansas kids deserve every advantage we as parents can give them. Helping them keep their heads in the game at school isn’t just good for their mental health. It will improve the quality of their education,” Dees said. “Disconnecting students from doom-scrolling on big tech social media platforms during school is common sense and will help their social and emotional health.”

Personal electronic devices include cell phones, pagers, beepers, digital media players, portable game consoles, tablets, computer notebooks, laptops, digital recording devices (cameras or audio), smart watches, or any device that can connect and transmit data through Bluetooth.

The bill's current form calls for prohibiting personal electronic devices during the school day. It scratches out students using such devices for instructional purposes at the discretion of a teacher or administrator.

This is only for public school districts or open-enrollment public charter schools to meet compliance. The bill does not mention private, magnet, virtual, homeschooling, and specialized schools (like the Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind).

The bill includes an exemption for device use for health-related matters and emergencies (fire, tornado, earthquake, active shooter, evacuation of school grounds, or medical). It also exempts the school districts if the devices are lost, stolen, or damaged if such devices are in the school’s possession.

In her 2025 State of the State address, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders identified mental health as one of her top priorities for the year. In addition to the phone-free schools program, the Governor plans to update Arkansas’ Social Media Safety Act so it is no longer held up in court and to grant Arkansas parents the right to sue "Big Tech companies” under state law so they can hold “bad actors” accountable.

“We have seen a staggering rise in mental illness among young people over the past decade. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to smartphones and social media,” said Sanders. “After the overwhelming success of our phone-free schools pilot program, it’s clear that it’s time for Arkansas to ban smartphones, bell to bell, in every school in our state.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Lawmakers push for ‘phone-free’ Arkansas schools with new legislation