SACRAMENTO — It’s been more than a year since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Phone-Free School Act requiring every school district in California to develop its own policy limiting smartphone use on campuses by July 1, 2026. According to officials from the California Department of Education and the nonprofit Common Sense Media, it’s been a good start to what should be a longer-term effort at digital citizenship education.
In a presentation for school IT leaders this week at the California IT in Education (CITE) conference in Sacramento, the Department of Education’s Digital Equity Broadband Coordinator Kristina Mattis expressed unease with the word “ban.” She said schools must ensure a safe and effective learning environment, but the law doesn’t stipulate that that requires banning devices altogether.
“We can’t avoid [technology], we can’t ignore it, we’re not going to shove it under the rug, so how are we doing it well, and appropriately, and in ways that truly do make a difference for our kids?” she said…