Gov. Armstrong signs ‘Bell to Bell’ school phone bill

Gov. Kelly Armstrong signs bill requiring that students not use their phones during the school day.

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – Gov. Kelly Armstrong said Friday as he signed a bill requiring K-12 public schools in North Dakota to adopt phone-free school policies that it may be the most impactful legislation of this session.

The house bill requires all personal electronic communication devices to be securely stowed and inaccessible to students during instructional time from the start of the school day until dismissal at the end of the day, commonly referred to as a “bell-to-bell” phone-free policy.

Jim Jonas, the West Fargo lawmaker who sponsored the legislation, said the bill is “the culmination of a decade and a half of North Dakota schools trying to negotiate cell phone policies, trying to solve the problem of how much it distracts students from being engaged in learning.”

The law becomes effective Aug. 1.