House Bill 208 passed, with no votes against it. That’s pretty rare for Frankfort due to the Kentucky House being 47% Republican and 42% Democrat. The bill requires local school boards to adopt policies that restrict student use of personal telecommunication devices, including cell phones, during instructional time. In addition, JCPS added to this policy, extending it into the hallways and lunch periods. 

State Rep. Lisa Wilner (D-35th District) was one of the sponsors of HB 208. 

“In Northern Kentucky, the superintendent had banned cell phones in their school district a few years ago. He said that initially, there was this very, very loud opposition, but it was really only from a very small number of folks. It was mainly parents who were really upset about it. And then after they enacted the ban, everybody liked it, they felt that it improved school climate, improved school discipline, and that there had been a little bit of an uptick in test results.” Wilner explained.

“There’s not been a ton of research, but what there has been has shown it to be beneficial. That there’s both the behavioral component, the academic performance, academic achievement component, and actually the mental health component that phones had contributed to bullying in a lot of cases.” Wilner made a point on how students are having more one-on- one interactions.

“That’s awesome to have people engaging in authentic human-to-human interaction instead of plugged in on their phones, not interacting. It feels good. You know, it feels like it was a step in the right direction. I think the ability to take a break from this is just really healthy. Not just for students, not just for young people, but honestly for all of us overall.”

The Atherton student body seems to be acclimating to this new law. Some students say they have even found it helpful with their grades and interactions with friends.