Newsom wants to restrict smartphone use in schools

sAccramento, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that he wants to restrict student smartphone use during the school day, citing the mental health risks of social media.

The announcement, which was the first reported by Politicoarrives a day later US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms and their effects on young people. Newsom said he plans to build on a law he signed in 2019 that authorized school districts to limit or prohibit student smartphone use while at school or under the supervision of a school employee.

“As the Surgeon General stated, social media is harming the mental health of our young people,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the Legislature to restrict smartphone use during the school day. When children and teenagers are at school, they should focus on their studies – not on screens.”

Newsom’s office did not provide further details about the proposal. But the California School Boards Association said any regulations on student smartphone use should be left to school districts, not the state.

“We support legislation that empowers school leaders to make policy decisions at the local level that reflect the concerns of their community and what is needed to support their students,” said spokesman Troy Flint.

Newsom’s announcement comes amid a growing debate across the country about how to address the impacts of social media and smartphone use, especially among young people. Some teenagers have promised to stay away from social media to improve their mental health and help them focus on schoolwork and extracurricular activities.

In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed it earlier this year one of the most restrictive bans in the country on children’s use of social media. The New York State Legislature approved a bill earlier this month, this would allow parents to block their children from receiving social media posts suggested to them by the platform’s algorithm.

In California, a proposal to great social media platforms for addicted children has not become law in recent years. But a bill from state Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat who represents Berkeley, that would ban online platforms from providing addictive feeds to minors, passed the state Senate in May and is scheduled for an Assembly hearing next month.

The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted Tuesday for the district to develop policies prohibiting student cell phone use during the school day, with some exceptions. Board member Nick Melvoin, who was a teacher and regularly visits school campuses, said he was “impressed” by how “students are glued to their cell phones, not unlike adults.”

“When I talk to teachers, students, parents and principals, I also hear the same thing: more and more time is being spent policing student phone use,” he said at the meeting. “There is no coherent oversight and they are looking for some support from the board and the district.”

State Sen. Henry Stern, a Democrat who represents part of the Los Angeles area, introduced a bill this year to expand school districts’ authority to limit students’ use of social media in schools. Stern said he would be willing to withdraw his bill, which has already passed the Senate, if lawmakers and Newsom can find a better solution. Stern said he texted Newsom to thank him after the governor’s announcement.

“It’s very difficult for every teacher, every school or every parent to have to figure this out on their own,” Stern said. “There are some times when the government simply needs to step in and establish broader traffic rules.”