wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5346 > Substitute Bill
The legislature finds that student use of mobile devices in schools has had a multitude of negative effects on student outcomes. Mobile devices can be a constant distraction that disrupts the learning environment for all students. According to a study from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and as replicated by other researchers, the mere presence of a smartphone by a neighboring student lowers a nonphone student's test performance by about six percent. A study from the University of California, Irvine showed that it can take 20 minutes for students to refocus after each phone distraction and a separate study by the pew research center found that 72 percent of high school teachers in the United States say that cell phone distraction is a major problem in their classroom.
The legislature further finds that mobile devices can increase harm to students' mental health either by recording students without consent or through increased cyberbullying. Washington students are still recovering from the massive effects of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, including severe learning loss and troubling trends in student mental health.
The legislature recognizes the need for students to learn how to safely, ethically, responsibly, and effectively use technology through digital citizenship and media literacy in schools and for school policies to support best practices when it comes to the use of technology.
The legislature intends to build on this learning and help public schools implement best practices by providing research on student use of mobile devices and recommended best practice strategies for teaching students how to use their mobile devices responsibly. The legislature further intends to review information on the policies and procedures that public schools are adopting regarding student use of mobile devices and understand the barriers that public schools experience implementing these policies and procedures. The legislature will then consider the office of the superintendent of public instruction's evidence-based recommendations related to student mobile device use with a goal of enabling every school district in Washington to implement a bell-to-bell cell phone policy that is tailored to the needs of their community by 2030.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
"Digital citizenship" includes the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior related to current technology use and use of mobile devices, including digital and media literacy, ethics, etiquette, and security. The term also includes the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, develop, produce, and interpret media, as well as internet safety and cyberbullying prevention and response.
"Instructional hours" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 28A.150.205.
"Learning device" means an internet-accessible computer, tablet, or other device, with an appropriate operating system, software applications, and data security, that can be used to access curricula, educational web applications and websites, and learning management systems, and with telecommunications capabilities sufficient for videoconferencing.
"Mobile device" means any personal mobile telephone or other portable electronic communication device with which a user engages in a call or writes or sends a message, or any device in which the user plays a game or watches a video. "Mobile device" does not include school-issued devices.
The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall create a web-based location with links to recommended successful practices and resources to support digital citizenship, media literacy, and internet safety . The web-based location must also include research on student use of mobile devices and recommended best practice strategies for teaching students how to use their mobile devices responsibly.
Thereafter, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall continue to identify and develop additional open educational resources to support digital citizenship, media literacy, and internet safety in schools for the web-based location.
Media literacy resources must consist of a balance of sources and perspectives.
By December 15, 2026, and in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall submit an initial report to the appropriate committees of the legislature with:
A summary of the policies and procedures that have been adopted by public schools in Washington and in other states limiting student use of mobile devices during instructional hours; and
A summary of the barriers that public schools have experienced when implementing these policies and procedures.
The office of the superintendent of public instruction must distribute information to public schools on how to access the web-based location with research and strategies related to student use of mobile devices described in RCW 28A.650.050.
By December 15, 2028, and in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must submit a final report to the appropriate committees of the legislature with:
An updated summary of the policies and procedures that have been adopted by public schools in Washington limiting student use of mobile devices during instructional hours;
An updated summary of the barriers that public schools have experienced when implementing these policies and procedures; and
Evidence-based recommendations related to student mobile device use during instructional hours that support academic learning, healthy social relationships and emotional well-being, and recommendations for incorporating student mobile device use within digital citizenship as defined in RCW 28A.650.010.
This section expires June 30, 2029.