Phone-Free Schools Advocacy

MODEL BILL​​​

• MODEL PHONE-FREE SCHOOL Bill  - Phone-Free Schools

• Briefing Document - FAQs

• Best Practice Model School Policy - For schools implementing bell-to-bell​​​

• Phone Free Schools Legislation Checklist​

• Model School Policy for School Implementation 

• Phone-Free Schools Report Card - Look up your state at this site​

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TALKING POINTS 

• Success Stories - Schools that have gone phone-free are seeing amazing results​​

• Experts' Letter of Support - Signed by ATF, NEA, Jon Haidt, and other advocates

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• Local Control Talking Points​

  • Bell to Bell vs. Class Time Ban

    • Why Cell Phone BANS Work but Restrictions Don't - Jared Cooney Harvath video explaining from a neurological perspective

    • My School Banned Phones for the Year. Here's What Happened - After Babel Article - "... even though they couldn’t access their phone, they still felt the dopamine burst whenever they felt a vibration go off in the pouch... It drove them mad."

    • Ban smartphones in Oregon schools to help students learn - Opinion piece by Jared Cooney Horvath and Andrea Davis​​​

  • Emergency Safety: One of the top concerns we hear from parents is about reaching their child during a school emergency. In fact, school safety experts say phones make students less safe during a school emergency.  ​

    • National Assoc. of School Resource Officers - Letter of Support

    • NSRO Press Release - NSRO website

    • Why school safety experts want phone bans - Screenagers podcast​​​​

  • Low-Cost Storage Options

    • Storage Lockers - Preferred low-cost storage method

    • Low-Cost Alternative Storage Ideas - Learn about creative low-cost options for implementing a bell-to-bell policy

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• Articles/Research​

  • Major Meta-Analysis Links Social Media to Worse Youth Mental Health - JAMA Study released 5/1/2026

  • Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests

  • Research and Publications - Laura D. curated list on Phone-Free, Social Media Free and School Tech

  • Have Humans Passed Peak Brain Power? - Makes the workforce development argument

  • Over 20,000 educators share insights on school cell phone policies - Angela Duckworth survey from 10/25

  • Study Finds Mental Health Benefit to 1-Week Social Media Break - 295 volunteers aged 18 - 24​​

  • Have Humans Passed Peak Brain Power? - The workforce development argument to remove phones. 

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• Video Testimony

  • ESL Teacher Testimony - Explains why ESL students should not use phones for translation

  • Northhampton Teacher Testimony - This teacher left his job because of phones

  • Laura Marquez-Garrett giving testimony for Vermont - Awesome testimony to share with others

  • Teachers at School that Transitioned to Phone-Free - 30-Minute

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• Presentations/Webinars

  • Jon Haidt 2023 Slide Presentation

  • Angela Duckworth Keynote - Shares her research about phones in schools, ExcelinEd Education Summit

  • Phone-Free Schools: What the Evidence Really Shows - ExcelinEd Education Summit

  • Phone-Free Schools on a Budget 15-minute version​

  • Phone-Free Schools on a Budget 40-minute version​​​​​​​

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ADVOCACY RESOURCES ​​​​​​​​

• National Letter of Support - To get community members to sign and share 

• Flyers

  • Stats Flyer - Phone-Free Schools Movement

  • Cyberbullying - Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay

  • Illegal Online Drug Sales - Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay

  • Gaming - Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay

  • Online Challenges - Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay

  • Screen Overuse - Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay

  • Sexual Exploitation - Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay

  • Youth Voice Video - Under 4-minute video of first-generation smartphone users sharing their experience 

  • There's a Cell Phone in Your Student's Head - 2-minute video about how phone impacts the brain

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• Toolkits

  • Administrator Toolkit - Phone-Free Schools Movement/Fairplay

  • Screen Strong Toolkit - Helpful stats

  • Away For The Day"(AFTD)- Movement providing free tools to help schools transition to device-free

  • NY Bell-to-Bell Toolkit - Written by NY Teachers Union​

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• Templates - Getting Community Support

  • Bill Co-Sponsor Request: Email Template

  • Indiv/Org. Support Request: Formal Email Template

  • Indiv/Org. Support Request: Informal Email Template

  • Op-Ed Templates - Under 700 words

  • Letter to the Editor Template - Under 200 words

  • Getting Community Buy-In

  • Screenagers Movies - Bringing a screening to your community

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• Templates - Getting Legislators On Board

  • Testimony suggestions: Template: Use the parts you feel will be most relevant

  • Email requesting meeting w/legislator - Use this to request a meeting with legislators

  • Co-Sponsor Request: Email Template - To ask legislators to co-sponsor a bill

  • Legislator call script - Shares that 18 states have passed bell-to-bell

  • Legislator email - Shares that 18 states have passed bell-to-bell

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OTHER

• Phone-Free Schools Database - Source: SFCxUS​​

• For Fun: Phone-Free Schools Rap - Baba Brinkman

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