On May 20, 2025, Bill LB140 was passed at the Nebraska state capitol. This bill required school districts to develop a specific phone policy and to declare an emergency. The bill would immediately take effect after being passed. Senator Rita Sanders introduced this bill at the request of Governor Jim Pillen. The bill is a part of Governor Pillen’s plan to reduce online harm to children. Even when first introduced, the bill received widespread support and passed with a 48-1 vote.
“I think Nebraska’s handling it well,” said senior Ethan Phan. “Obviously phones are good for fast communication. But another is, like, it’s open to social media. So for those things a phone is really not helpful.”
While the bill does require students to be off their phones during class, it provides exceptions for medical necessity (this includes IEPs and 504 plans), emergencies, or when deemed appropriate by the school board or a school employee.
Veteran teacher Chuck Morgan noted that when he started teaching, over 30 years ago, phones weren’t an issue.
“I’m pretty anti-phone,” Morgan stated. “I think we’re trying to simplify things so much that we are losing our abilities to be creative, to do critical thinking.”
He also spoke about his feelings on students using AI in the classroom.
“I know that it’s not authentic and I know that the student’s not coming up with it,” Morgan said. “So how does one ever learn?”
Bill LB140 was enacted to push back against the rising number of distractions and attention span issues for students. By requiring every school to have a phone policy, Nebraska legislation hopes that students will focus on learning.
