Banning cellphones in schools gains popularity in U.S. red, blue states

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The idea that students' cellphones need to be banned during the school day has been rapidly gaining bipartisan ground in the U.S. states, as at least eight states, namely California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, have enacted such bans over the past two years and proposals are being considered in several more states this year.

"The push for cellphone bans has been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children's mental health and complaints from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom," said The Associated Press on Thursday about the development.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their effects on young people's lives, has said schools need to provide phone-free times.

Nationally, 77 percent of U.S. schools say they prohibit cellphones at school for non-academic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But that number is misleading. It does not mean students are following those bans or all those schools are enforcing them, noted the report.