Requiring school districts to adopt policies to limit the use of personal electronic communication devices during school hours and requiring the state board of education to designate a period of time for social media awareness and develop goals and materials relating thereto.

Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2259
By Committee on Education
Requested by Representative Featherston on behalf of Representative Martinez
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AN ACT concerning education; relating to school districts; requiring
boards of education of school districts to adopt policies and procedures
for students' use of privately owned electronic communication devices
during school hours; requiring the state board of education to designate
a period of time each school year as a time for social media awareness;
requiring the state board to develop materials and guidelines that local
boards of education and governing authorities of accredited nonpublic
schools may use to educate students with respect to social media
awareness.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) Each board of education of a school district shall adopt
policies and procedures to govern the use of personal electronic
communication devices. Such policies and procedures shall:
(1) Prohibit students from using any personal electronic
communication device during the instructional hours of the school day;
and
(2) set forth disciplinary actions and consequences that may occur if a
student violates such policies and procedures.
(b) A school district's policies and procedures adopted pursuant to
this section may:
(1) Authorize a student to use a personal electronic communication
device during the instructional hours of a school day if the use is:
(A) Required for the implementation of a student's individualized
education program or 504 plan;
(B) authorized by a teacher or administrator for educational purposes,
except that such use shall not be authorized as part of a classroom reward
or free time;
(C) preapproved by an administrator or teacher on an individual
student basis due to health concerns, emergency concerns or other special
circumstances;
(D) authorized by an administrator or teacher for an event that occurs
outside of the school building during normal instructional hours such as a
field trip or activity; and
(2) prohibit students from using any personal electronic
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HB 2259 2
communication device during lunch or passing periods.
(c) As used in this section, "privately owned electronic
communication device" means any wireless electronic communication
device that:
(1) Provides for voice, text or video communication between two or
more parties, including, but not limited to, a mobile or cellular phone,
tablet, computer, watch, text messaging device or personal digital
assistant; and
(2) is not owned or issued to students by the school district or school.
Sec. 2. (a) The state board of education shall designate a period of
time each school year as a time for social media awareness. The state
board of education shall develop age and developmentally-appropriate
objectives, materials and instructional goals for social media awareness.
Such objectives, materials and instructional goals shall be shared to each
board of education of a school district and governing authority of an
accredited nonpublic school.
(b) Each school of a school district shall include social media
awareness within the district's curriculum as deemed appropriate by the
district.
(c) The goals of social media awareness shall be to teach students
about:
(1) The risks of social media use, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(A) Social media addiction;
(B) exposure to various forms of misinformation;
(C) negative effects on mental health; and
(D) the permanent nature of content created or disseminated on social
media;
(2) how to safely use social media, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(A) Maintaining personal security and preventing oversharing of
personal information;
(B) identifying predatory behavior; and
(C) reporting suspicious behavior; and
(3) the advantages of social media use, including, but not limited to,
the following:
(A) Career and resume building for future academic or employment
opportunities;
(B) sharing information with family and friends; and
(C) safely connecting with other users with similar interests.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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