No more phones in students’ or drivers’ hands, Iowa lawmakers urge

DES MOINES — Cellphones should not be allowed in students’ hands during class or in drivers’ hands while on the road, Iowa state lawmakers decreed Tuesday as they moved the proposals closer to becoming state law.

Cellphones and other mobile devices would be prohibited from being in students’ possession during classroom instruction time under a bill that was proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds and approved Tuesday by lawmakers in the Iowa House.

Across the Iowa Capitol rotunda, lawmakers in the Senate approved a requirement that drivers operate cellphones and other mobile devices only in hands-free or voice-activated modes to reduce distracted driving.

Both proposals passed with broad, bipartisan support, moving one step closer to Reynolds’ desk for her signature. Both address topics that Reynolds called for in January during her Condition of the State address to the Iowa Legislature.

Cellphones in classrooms

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Iowa’s K-12 schools would be required to prohibit students from having phones during classroom instructional time under a bill that passed the House.

House File 782, which was proposed by Reynolds, passed the House by an 88-9 vote, with nine Democrats opposed.

Reynolds praised the House passage of the bill, which she said in a statement would “help students be fully engaged in their education and achieve their highest potential in the classroom.”

“With digital distractions at an all-time high, we must ensure Iowa classrooms maintain environments where focus, learning and productivity can truly thrive," Reynolds said. “Our students deserve the opportunity to learn free from the distraction of personal electronic devices. Already, we’ve seen positive proven results from schools who have implemented similar cellphone policies.”

The governor’s office, teacher groups and Iowa school administrators said such policies help improve students’ concentration, decrease cyberbullying and address concerns about students’ mental health.

Several school districts across Iowa already have cellphone policies and restrictions in place, including the Ottumwa, Ankeny and Ames school districts. In December, the Iowa City school board approved a cellphone policy that requires phones, earbuds and headphones to be “detached from the student’s body” during instructional time.

Groups representing Iowa’s public teachers union and school boards support the proposal. No group is registered in opposition, according to state lobbying records.

Rep. Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Birmingham, said he is glad to see Iowa lawmakers acknowledge that mobile device use “can and often does come with negative impacts.”

Rep. Heather Matson, a Democrat from Ankeny, said she believes that reasonable people can disagree about the state’s role in setting policies for phones in schools, but that she supports the bill because of the positive impacts for students and teachers that she believes it will create.

“I think we all know the incredible distractions caused by cellphones and other electronic devices,” Matson said. “I believe that the evidence has shown that restrictions (already in place) are making a difference.”

The legislation also would require training for sixth- through eighth-grade students on the “effects of social media.”

With its passage out of the House, the proposal awaits its fate in the Senate. A companion bill there, Senate File 370, has passed out of committee and is eligible for debate by the full Senate.

Hands-free use while driving

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With family members of Iowans who were killed by distracted drivers and Iowa State Patrol officers watching from the public galleries, the Senate gave near-unanimous approval Tuesday to the prohibition of hand-held phone use while driving.

The bill, Senate File 22, passed by a 47-1 vote; Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen, a Republican from Walcott, was the lone holdout.

The Senate has passed the legislation in previous years, but it has not been taken up in the House. Both chambers’ agendas are determined by Republicans.

Reynolds drew attention to the distracted driving issue in January, for the first time noting it during her annual Condition of the State address. And Rep. David Young, a Republican from Van Meter who is chair of the House’s Transportation Committee, has pushed for the bill’s passage.

A companion bill in the House, House File 827, has passed at the committee level and is eligible for debate by the full House. Young said he hopes the bill would be ready for floor debate in the House soon.

Some Senate Democrats expressed concern Tuesday with a provision that would exempt drivers of farm vehicles from the hands-free requirement, but they otherwise supported the bill and expressed an urgency to get something to Reynolds’ desk.

“I’ve seen since that time (when the Senate passed previous versions of the bill) too many people die on Iowa roads, too many cyclists hit by cars,” Sen. Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, said during debate. “We’ve got to get this thing done.”

Under the bill, a violation would result in a fine of $45 to $100; if serious injury or death occurs, the fine would be $500 and $1,000, respectively, and the driver’s license could be suspended. A violation would be a moving violation that can be considered for purposes of administrative suspension of a driver’s license or to establish habitual offender status.

Judith Collora and Berta Pearson, both of Mount Pleasant and both of whom have lost family members in traffic crashes involving distracted drivers, watched the debate and vote from the Senate’s public gallery. Talking to reporters after the vote, they were emotional and concerned about the bill’s future in the House.

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“While we’re happy that this vote passed, the real anxious vote is going to be on the House floor,” Collora said.

Collora and Pearson have testified during public hearings on the proposal during this year’s legislative session.

Tom Barton of The Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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