ATLANTA – A societal backlash against the dizzying distraction of smartphones has gained momentum in the General Assembly, where legislation to ban the devices in schools remains in play after last week’s deadline to move bills between chambers.

House Bill 340, which passed the state House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support, would prohibit student use of personal electronic devices from the first ring of the school bell in the morning to the last ring in the afternoon.

The “Distraction-Free Education Act” would only apply to elementary and middle schools, for now. Teenagers are so connected to their devices that lawmakers fear pushback from families if they try to include high schools.

That could change in the future if the legislation becomes law and loosens the grip of the devices on younger kids, said the bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners. He predicted that a ban would increase academic performance, reduce bullying and improve student mental health, and he said he thinks people will wonder why cellphones were ever allowed in schools.

“Years from now, we’re going to look back and say, ‘I can’t believe we ever allowed ourselves to do it,’ ” Hilton said.

The backlash against cellphones in schools has been brewing for years, as public consciousness has grown about the addictive nature of smartphones and the pervasive social media usage they enable.

Documentaries such as “The Social Dilemma” have explored how social media companies target children and their attention. Books such as “Stolen Focus” by British journalist Johann Hari have described the impact of the resulting distraction on their ability to function.

It has been years since the Georgia legislature recognized the risk of smartphone distraction and made it illegal to hold one while driving. Now, experts are finding that the devices affect students by forcing constant shifts of focus, encouraging misbehavior and undermining socialization.

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that reviews the age appropriateness of books and technology targeting children, reported last month that 97% of students aged 11-17 who have smartphones use them throughout the school day. In 2023, the organization published a study of smartphone use by kids in that same age group, using data from about 200 students. Half were receiving 237 or more notifications per day.

Adriana Harrington, who used to work for the Tennessee Department of Education and now directs policy for ExcelinEd, a Florida-based education think tank, drove home the impact of such statistics during a presentation for lawmakers in early February.

Hari, the author, spoke at a national summit last fall. He said it takes 23 minutes to regain the same level of focus after tending to a smartphone notification.

“If you do the math, there is no possible way to maintain focus throughout a school day with that much disruption occurring in your pocket,” Harrington told the lawmakers.

JAMA Pediatrics, published by the American Medical Association, reported last month that kids aged 13 to 18 spend an average of 8.5 hours a day using screen-based media.

“Smartphone use during school has become a concern, and school-based smartphone bans have been increasingly considered,” the report said. “Smartphones may distract from classroom learning and opportunities for real-world interactions.”

There will likely be resistance to a ban in Georgia, especially in middle school, where many kids already have a smartphone. Parents have grown accustomed to the technological tether to their children, and the increasing anxiety about school shootings is causing many to clutch tightly to that link.

During the House floor debate on HB 340 last week, Rep. Imani Barnes, D-Tucker, said her son had recently texted her from school during a lockdown.

“It terrified me,” she said. “He sent the information firsthand, quickly, from his phone. I don’t want him on his phone while he’s in class, but what are your suggestions in those situations?”

Hilton, a father of three, responded that he also worries about the safety of his own kids at school, but he said experts he heard from said cellphones escalate the danger during an emergency.

“All of them agree on one thing,” Hilton said. “In the case of an emergency, the last thing we want is a child to have a phone in their hand. They want the undivided attention of that student on the teacher, getting directions as to where to go.”

The legislation would require schools to develop policies that allow parents to reach their kids in school, for instance, by calling the principal’s office. It also would require exemptions from the ban for students with disabilities or medical conditions that require them to use a device for learning or for health uses, such as checking their glucose level.

Georgia would be following a half dozen states that already ban phones in classrooms. They’re reporting fewer disruptions and more interaction among students.

Harrington said teachers in schools that have eradicated phones have noticed a culture shift, with kids playing cards in the lunchroom instead of hunching over a device.

Grant Rivera, superintendent of Marietta City Schools, has seen this increased socialization firsthand. His school board backed a ban on cellphones in middle school that started this school year.

Rivera said at the legislative presentation last month that one in five of his middle school students surveyed said the ban had led to improved learning. Two thirds of teachers surveyed said they felt less stressed about managing their classrooms and about teaching their students due to the policy.

Disciplinary problems are down now that kids can’t start and promote fights on social media, Rivera said. And lunchrooms that were quiet are now abuzz with conversation.

“It impacts academics, it impacts their well-being, it impacts their relationships,” Rivera said.

Proponents say high school students experience the downsides of cellphone use, too. But a ban at that level would be trickier. Teens who testified at a House subcommittee hearing in late February said students have jobs and that employers may want to contact them during school hours. And they said students have club meetings to coordinate.

John Zauner, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, predicted that if HB 340 passes and a ban takes hold in elementary and middle schools, the “culture” around smartphone use will lose its grip as younger kids rise to high school.

The former high school principal told lawmakers that he supported the proposed ban in K-8 schools, “knowing that we can build that culture, actually break that culture, and create a new one at (grades) 9-12 in a pretty short amount of time.”

HB 340 passed a House subcommittee unanimously, before passing the House Education Committee despite a couple of dissenters. It passed the full House 143-29 last week and awaits a hearing by the Senate Children and Families Committee.

If the legislation becomes law, school districts would have until January to write policies and procedures for locking up kids’ phones in elementary and middle schools, and they would have to implement those policies by the summer of 2026.