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Minutes for SB302 - Committee on Education
Short Title
Requiring school districts to prohibit the use of personal electronic communication devices during instructional time and prohibiting any employee of a school district from using social media to directly communicate with any student for official school purposes.
Minutes Content for Thu, Jan 15, 2026
Chairman Erickson opened the hearing on SB302 by reminding Committee Members of the committee conferee guidelines. She explained there are twenty conferees for this bill so each conferee will have two minutes to testify.
Tamera Lawrence, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill and stood for questions. (Attachment 1)
Proponent Testimony:
Emily Brownlee, Parents, explained that our children live in a world where evil is profitable and students are incredibly vulnerable to predication, addition, depression, anxiety and suicidal. We must protect them from social media. If you say yes to this bill, you are saying yes to wonderful things including laughter, empathy, respect, and true friendship. It will increase teen self-esteem, improve student productivity and creativity, foster real connection and build authentic community. (Attachment 2)
Michael Chartier, Midwest Legislative Director for ExcelinEd in Action, spoke of a study conducted by the University of Michigan Medicine's CS Mott Children's Hospital on cell phone use and found on average 97% of students use their phones during the school day. They receive on average 237 notifications a day, with 25% of those occurring while at school. Another study has shown it takes 23 minutes on average to regain complete focus following an interruption. In terms of outcomes, the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that in Florida, in schools with bell-to-bell policy, test scores have significantly increased, unexcused absences have significantly reduced. (Attachment 3)
Kevin Cronister, Detective with Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, noted three points about cell phone usage by children in schools:
- Most conversations between predators and children take place in either their bedroom late at night or at school.
- The child introduced the predator to friends while at school, often by predator's request.
- When a child shares a nude or intimate photo with a classmate, it occurs at school.
Preventing students from accessing their cell phones during school hours will eliminate a high-risk opportunity that gives predators access to children away from parental involvement and gives children away from parental involvement to make impulsive decisions due to encouragement from peers. (Attachment 4)
Anthony Dummermuth, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, stated cell phones impact the mental development of a child. Young people are having trouble focusing for significant periods of time, unable to listen and be present in class or conversations or reading. They are constructing their identity based on trends, influencers, or whatever else is fed by algorithms and endless internet searches. Relationships are also suffering. (Attachment 5)
April Holman, Executive Director, Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, said the restriction of cell phone usage during school hours reduces bullying and improves overall mental health. There are important medical and safety reasons why some students may need to have access to cell phones in schools, however, the general restriction of cell phone use is a practical protection that will improve the mental health of students. (Attachment 6)
Katie Longhauser, Founder of Kids Digital Health Hub and Screen Guardians, stated schools need to ask better questions. She gave an illustration of problem solving and then asked what new problems may be created from those solutions? She said it takes the brain time to recover and focus on what it is supposed to be focusing on. (Attachment 7)
Adrienne Olejnik, Vice President, Kansas Action for Children, said bell-to-bell restriction is an essential step that puts in place measures that help protect one of the most important activities of childhood - gaining an education. Digital devices interfere with so many critical aspects of children's development and schools should thoughtfully consider how technology is integrated into a student's day. Children are struggling, as the increase in both mental health diagnoses and suicides show. Kansas had the 10th highest suicide rate in the nation for youths aged 15-24. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Kansas early adolescents. Nearly 70% of parents say that parenting is now more difficult that it was 20 years ago. (Attachment 8)
Gretchen Shanahana, parent, expressed a concern for safety in schools. One feature now being used in schools is a School Resource Officer (SRO). This person is a carefully selected, specifically trained and properly equipped law enforcement officer. A summary of the National Association of School Resource Officers states:
- Access to phones during the school day reduces student safety in normal and especially emergency situations.
- During normal days, phone access promotes social media drama and cyberbullying and makes it easier for students to plan physical altercations.
- During school emergencies, the risks posed by phone access is even greater.
- During an emergency, such as a school shooting, students must be completely focused on lifesaving instructions. Phones can easily distract students from hearing, understanding and reacting appropriately.
- Some school emergencies require students to hide in silence to avoid being targets of violence. Sounds or lights from student phones could help an assailant locate potential victims.
- Hundreds of students using phones simultaneously could hinder essential emergency communications.(Attachment 9)
Ngoc Vuong, Member, Wichita Public School Board, suggested the following:
- It is vital that there is physical separation (inaccessibility) between students and their devices.
- School districts to decide the latitude and flexibility in deciding storage options and process.
- Ensure there is adequate language in this bill to ensure protection for students with IEP's, 504 plans, and other documented medical needs.
- It is not enough to restrict use and possession of phone, must know how much time is spent on school-issued devices.
- How can we work together to promote healthier digital habits and behaviors?
- To what extent is the endless plethora of EdTech products and services actually effective? (Attachment 10)
Amy Warren, Co-Chair, Kansas Coalition for Distraction Free Schools and Member of Wichita Public School Board, noted that physical proximity to a device reduces cognitive capacity. It distracts more than the person holding the device, it effects everyone near it. As a freedom-loving people, we often prefer to limit legislation and leave it as a last resort, only to be used when either all other measures have failed, or when the immediate consequences are clear. Other measures have failed. Consequences are clear. Pass this bill. (Attachment 11)
Kim Whitman, Co-Lead, National Nonprofit Smartphone Free Childhood US and Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project initiative. Passing this bill would allow Kansas to join 19 other states that have prioritized distraction-free learning and already enacted bell-to-bell phone-free school laws. (Attachment 12)
Proponent Written Only (Attachment 13)
Neutral Testimony:
Cathy Hopkins and Beryl New, Legislative Liaisons, Kansas Board of Education, stated the Board has established a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Screen Time for the purpose of studying and making recommendations on the topic of personal device use in schools, screen time and mental health, and parental oversight of district-owned devices. At the conclusion of the study, the Board received a report outlining the recommendations of the Task Force. The Board also surveyed school districts to evaluate current cell phone policies and their implementation process. The survey showed many districts have adopted policies restricting cell phone use. It is recommended districts develop and implement their own policy.(Attachment 14)
Frank Harwood, Deputy Commission for Fiscal and Administrative Services, recommended changing some of the language in the bill. Instructional time as the term may cause undue confusion. He recommends the use of the term "school day".(Attachment 15)
Timothy R Graham, Director of Government Relations and Legislative Affairs, Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), stated that the KNEA said an issue that consistently guides it's advocacy is local control. Decisions that directly affect students, classrooms and daily school operations are best made by locally elected school boards working in partnership with their communities and educators. Some concerns the KNEA has are with confidentiality, family and caretaker realities, enforcement and liability, administrative follow-through, definition of instructional time, unfunded mandate, and implementation timeline. (Attachment 16)
Jim Karleskint, United School Administrators, expressed concerns regarding students not having their cell phone during the school day. Parents may need to contact their students, how would they enforce the ban including the storage and potential liability of the devices, enforcement. (Attachment 17)
Opponent Testimony:
Leah Fliter, Assistant Executive Director of Advocacy, Kansas Association of School Boards, also stressed the need for local control. She, too, made suggestions on amending the bill:
- Page 1 - line 10 - strike "Unaccredited"
- Page 1 - line 18 - strike "securely" and "from the student's person in an inaccessible location"
- Page 1 - strike lines 20-22
- Page 1 - line 27-28 insert "individualized language plan" between student and "Individualized education program"
- Page 1 - line 32 insert: during instructional time" between the words "parent" and "through"
- Page 2 - line 22 strike "accredited"
- Section 2 needs to be rewritten (Attachment 18)
Ann Mah, Retiree, stated that it is not the job of the legislature to set these policies. The state school board established the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time to provide recommendations regarding the use of personal devices in school. The Task Force submitted a report, and 240 districts now have such policies. (Attachment 19)
Mary F. Sinclair, PhD, Advocacy Team, Kansas PTA, repeated that this is an issue for locally elected school boards and district leadership to determine. This bill creates problems with the following:
- Unnecessary logistical challenges
- Unfunded Mandate
- Communication restrictions
- Chronic Absenteeism (Attachment 20)
Katie Howell, Student, Spring Hill High School, asked why, as a 4.0 student involved in a variety of extracurricular activities and who has prioritized her learning, should she be banned from her phone. She stated it is unfair for her to give up her phone. It is unfairly broad to include every student in the state. (Attachment 21)
Opponent Written Only (Attachment 22)
Chairman Erickson closed the hearing on SB 302.
The meeting was adjourned 2:25 pm.
The next meeting of Senate Education Committee will be a joint meeting with House Education Committee to be held January 20, 2026, at 1:30 pm in room 218-N. Dr. Cynthia Lane, Kansas Board of Regents, will be presenting an updated on the Blueprint for Literacy.
