Georgia high school students will no longer be able to use cellphones in class

ATLANTA — Students in Georgia may no longer be able to use their cellphones inside high schools.

Lawmakers passed a bill that bans their use during the instructional day.

Sasha Contreras is a senior at Apalachee High School.

She was there during the mass shooting that killed four people, including two classmates.

“The first phone calls to 911 were through student phones,” Contreras said.

She believes students need their cellphones just in case there’s another emergency like that one.

“Just having my phone that day really … I mean we needed it. I feel like this bill is kind of ignoring all the issues that could stem from not having it,” Contreras told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot.

But lawmakers disagreed on Monday.

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The Georgia Senate voted unanimously to approve the bill that would ban cellphones from Georgia high schools, meaning no student cellphone use from the first bell to the last bell and all the bells in between.

Peachtree Corners Republican Rep. Scott Hilton wrote the bill.

“I’ll tell you, incredibly life-changing as this is going to help the mental health of our students, it’s going to help our students’ grades. It’s going to help their test scores, and it’s going to make our school safer,” Hilton said.

Co-author Suwanee Republican state Sen. Shawn Still believes it’s safer during emergencies for students to be paying full attention to teachers and administrators rather than being on their phones.

He thinks students will be better students without the distractions.

“Truly, I think the only people that are going to have a hard time with this are the teenagers that have to adjust to life without it,” Still said.

That bill now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk.

If he signs it, it will go into effect for the 2027-2028 school year, giving districts a year to get ready.