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HB 2259

Requiring school districts to adopt policies to limit the use of personal electronic communication devices during school hours and requiring the state board of education to designate a period of time for social media awareness and develop goals and materials relating thereto.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Requires districts to ban privately owned devices during class with limited exceptions; designates a yearly social media awareness period and delivers age-appropriate materials.

Died in Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 2259

Summary — HB 2259 (Introduced Jan 30, 2025)

Title: Requiring school districts to adopt policies to limit the use of personal electronic communication devices during school hours and requiring the State Board of Education to designate a period of time for social media awareness and develop goals and materials relating thereto.

Status: Referred to House Committee on Education. Fiscal note issued Feb 20, 2025.

Main purpose

Require local school boards to adopt policies restricting student use of personally owned electronic communication devices during instructional hours, and require the State Board of Education to designate an annual “social media awareness” period and produce age‑appropriate objectives, materials, and instructional goals for use by local districts and accredited nonpublic schools.

Key provisions

  • Local board requirements
    • Each school board must adopt policies/procedures governing the use of privately owned electronic communication devices.
    • Policies must prohibit students from using any such device during instructional hours.
    • Policies must set forth disciplinary actions/consequences for violations.
    • District policies may (optional provisions):
    • Allow device use when required by a student’s IEP or 504 plan.
    • Allow use authorized by a teacher/administrator for educational purposes (explicitly not as classroom rewards or free time).
    • Allow preapproval on an individual basis for health, emergency, or other special circumstances.
    • Allow authorization for events outside the school building during instructional hours (e.g., field trips).
    • Prohibit device use during lunch or passing periods (district option).
  • Definitions
    • “Privately owned electronic communication device” includes wireless devices that enable voice, text, or video communication (e.g., mobile/cellular phones, tablets, computers, watches, PDAs) that are not district‑issued.
  • State Board of Education responsibilities
    • Designate a period each school year as a time for “social media awareness.”
    • Develop age‑ and developmentally‑appropriate objectives, instructional goals, and materials for social media awareness.
    • Share these objectives/materials with each school district board and governing authorities of accredited nonpublic schools.
    • Require each district to include social media awareness in its curriculum as deemed appropriate.
    • Specified curricular goals include teaching:
    • Risks of social media (addiction, misinformation, mental health impacts, permanence of content);
    • Safe use strategies (privacy/security, identifying/reporting predatory or suspicious behavior);
    • Advantages of thoughtful social media use (career/resume building, family/friend connections, safe interest‑based networking).

Who is affected

  • Public school districts and their local boards of education (required to adopt policies).
  • Students (restrictions on device use; subject to disciplinary provisions).
  • Teachers and administrators (authority to authorize device use for educational or special‑circumstance purposes; responsible for implementing policies and curricular materials).
  • Accredited nonpublic schools (recipients of state‑developed materials; may use them).
  • State Board of Education and Department of Education (responsible for developing materials and convening standards/working groups).

Fiscal impact (from Fiscal Note)

  • State: One‑time estimated cost of $70,000 (State General Fund) in FY 2026 to the Department of Education to convene a standards‑development committee, meet multiple times, develop/review materials, reimburse travel for in‑person meetings, and cover other development costs.
  • Local districts: Anticipated but unquantified costs for teacher training and purchasing or adopting new curriculum materials; costs cannot be estimated until standards/materials are developed.
  • The fiscal note states the $70,000 is a one‑time expenditure and was not reflected in the FY 2026 Governor’s Budget Report.

Procedural / timing notes

  • Introduced: January 30, 2025.
  • Fiscal note dated: February 20, 2025.
  • As introduced, the act would take effect upon publication in the statute book (no fixed calendar date specified).
  • Current legislative status: Referred to Committee on Education.

Practical effects to expect if enacted

  • Districts will need to draft, adopt, and enforce device‑use policies and define disciplinary responses.
  • Schools will incorporate a state‑provided social media awareness module into curricula, with associated training and material adoption costs at the local level.
  • Students’ in‑class access to personal devices would be substantially limited, with specified exceptions for educational and special needs circumstances.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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