If Oregon is to become the 22nd state in the country to have a statewide policy banning the use of cellphones in schools, it could be up to Gov. Tina Kotek to make it happen.

Lawmakers in the Senate Education Committee declined to advance House Bill 2251 on Wednesday, after months of back-and-forth over how prescriptive the state’s policy should be, including whether it should prohibit high school students from accessing their phones during lunch and passing periods.

Committee Chair Lew Frederick, a Portland Democrat, tried in vain to persuade his colleagues to keep the bill alive by sending it to the Senate Rules Committee, allowing it to evade a Friday bill deadline.

But the other two Democrats and two Republicans on the panel refused to go along with that idea. Oregon Public Broadcasting was first to report the bill had died.

Sen. Janeen Sollman, a Democrat from Hillsboro, said she could have supported the bill had its sponsors permitted amendments offered by the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators and the Oregon School Boards Association that would have allowed more flexibility in the policy’s details and implementation, particularly for high school students.

Instead, she said, the bill’s Democratic sponsors, including Sen. Lisa Reynolds of Portland and Rep. April Dobson of Happy Valley, had intimated that if lawmakers wouldn’t sign off on the more restrictive version of the bill — which also specifies that districts must set disciplinary consequences for students who have violated the ban — then Kotek was waiting in the wings to swoop in with an executive order.

A spokesperson for Kotek confirmed that Wednesday afternoon.

“Gov. Kotek is very disappointed that HB 2251 did not advance,” spokesperson Lucas Bezerra said. “She has been clear that this bill was a priority for the session, given the benefits that removing cellphones from school settings have for student outcomes and mental health. The governor hopes the contents of the bill can be resurrected and she is actively exploring executive action.”

Sen. Suzanne Weber, a Tillamook Republican, said she was hearing concerns from school districts in her community about a lack of attached funding to help implement the policy. Many school districts told her they would have to purchase locking pouches or hire staff to patrol for phone usage to make the policy effective, Weber said.

Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, a Democrat from Corvallis, said she was concerned that the current version of the bill could slow or snarl the ability of students who rely on assistive technology for help communicating to use their devices in class.

Many teachers have urged lawmakers to pass a uniform statewide policy on phone usage, citing the toll that constant device proximity is taking on their relationships with students and student learning.
Fernanda Pazmino, a Spanish teacher at Franklin High School in Portland, wrote to lawmakers about the increased anxiety, social withdrawal and difficulty making friends she sees from her students now that their phones are their constant companions.

Her school has a phone policy, but enforcement is spotty, Pazmino wrote.

“As a result, phones are a constant presence in classrooms, hallways, and during lunch and passing periods,” Pazmino added in her testimony. “Even when students aren’t actively using them, just having the device nearby creates distraction. Research confirms what I see daily: smartphones reduce attention and interfere with learning, even when turned off. This isn’t a problem individual teachers can solve alone.”

Some parents, though, have raised concerns about not being able to reach their children at school, particularly during emergencies. And students, too, have pushed back, saying that they rely on their phones to communicate with parents, friends and employers during non-class time, and sometimes need to use their phones as learning tools during class.

“Banning these devices would slow down the modern learning process and stop the students’ ability to use digital materials that will later be used in the work world,” wrote Ava Thaemert, a sophomore at West Salem High School.