Cellphones

House Bill 1009 passed the Senate unanimously on Monday. Senators said the bell-to-bell ban would limit distractions among students, while allowing them to focus on instruction.

The Board of Education decided unanimously to pass a rule prohibiting students requiring students to turn off and store their electronic devices during school hours.

Next fall, every public elementary and middle school in Georgia will have to swim against the cultural tide by banishing cellphones.

The ban goes into effect in the summer of 2026. School districts have until January to write policies and procedures for locking up students’ phones from the first bell in the morning to the last one in the afternoon.

Third-grade students from Clarke and Oconee county schools are working together to raise awareness about the connection between cellphones and wildlife.…