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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

Standing in front of a local high school marketing and media class, grabbing the attention of the students proves to be a challenge for the special speaker.

“Hmm hmm,” chimes in the teacher, clearing her throat to get the attention of the students. “Chromebooks down, phones down. You shouldn’t have either out.”

As the speaker continues for the majority of the class period, oddly talking about the importance of phones in media and marketing, that same interruption happens at least three more times, which still doesn’t account for the amount of time the students spent looking down at their devices during the presentation.

While this was one example at one local high school, it’s a common trend across schools right now, and the question becomes, is it a problem?

About a year after that example, standing on a stage in front of a crowd of onlookers on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Shelby County Chamber’s 2025 Legislative Preview Luncheon, Rep. Leigh Hulsey spoke her mind on the issue, previewing legislation that could help.

Just a short few weeks ago on Feb. 4, the 2025 Alabama State Legislative Session began meeting in Montgomery, discussing a number of potential bills that could change many aspects of life in the state should they get passed. Among those was a pre-filed bill that will effectively ban the use of cell phones in schools, which Hulsey brought to the floor.

Cell phones have become a staple in schools since they became popular, but they have been a very dividing subject among students, parents and teachers. Hulsey, who represents House District 15 and was formerly a member on the Helena City Council, now looks to take charge in this debate and make a difference in the landscape of the up and coming generations.

The Freeing Our Classrooms of Unnecessary Screens for Safety Act looks to eliminate almost all use of cellular devices in schools with the hopes of creating better academic results, a decreasing number of mental health issues and better social interactions for students overall.

WHAT THE F.O.C.U.S. ACT IS

The F.O.C.U.S. Act was originally brought to the floor during the 2024 session by Hulsey, with the same goals in mind as she has now, hoping to improve productivity and self-esteem for students in schools.

Hulsey attended an education policy conference prior to that time, where she took part in listening to discussions on how phones have negatively impacted the lives of kids from both a mental health perspective and an educational perspective.

“The data that was presented was just alarming,” Hulsey said. “I felt like once I had been presented with that information, that the responsible thing to do was to try and tackle the problem and hopefully give these kiddos a better chance for success in life.”

As Hulsey discussed in the Legislative Preview Luncheon, she crafted the bill, but it was ultimately killed last year due to the fact that she did not have enough time to see it through.

Existing law states that boards of education can allow students to carry devices while on school property. Should it be passed, this act would repeal that law. The act’s synopsis states that beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, students would not be allowed to use or operate a cellular device on campus during the entirety of the instructional day unless certain exceptions say otherwise, but goes on to say that students may possess one on campus as long as it is turned off and stowed away safely.

Every school system has its own cell phone policy. However, as of now, most school systems, even in Shelby County, continue allowing students to possess personal devices on school grounds.

Pelham City Schools currently allows its students to carry their personal devices at school, but states that they must be stored properly during learning hours. To guard against usage, the student code of conduct goes on to state, “When a student is found to be using his/her cell phone and/or other personal digital device during the school day, the phone and/or other personal digital device will be taken from the student and given to a school administrator.”

The act also specifies that students will receive instruction on the impacts of social media and training on its usage prior to the eighth grade.

There are a few exceptions to the appropriate usage of cellular devices. A primary reason for using a cellular device is if it is necessary according to a student’s accommodation plan or Individualized Education Program.

The bill also addresses questions on if cell phones can be used in dire situations. The act contains wording that when an emergency regarding health and safety occurs, phone usage is allowed. It also states that they can be used for purposes as authorized in a wireless device policy.

According to Hulsey, while concerns have been raised from parents and others over the issue, she has voiced her assurance that the bill covers what questions they may have, trying to cover all bases of the matter.

Outside of those guidelines, the act requires that each local board of education in the state of Alabama create a policy addressing a student’s ability to access the internet on devices that are owned by the board.

THE IMPACTS

After Hulsey took in the information she was given at the education policy conference she attended, she began to research statistics on what cellular devices have done to students both mentally and physically.

Much of her data that she found was linked to a study that looked at student adverse effects data changes since 2010, largely as a result of social media.

In regards to mental effects, it was found that depression has increased 145 percent for girls and 161 percent for boys, a very high rate in a 15-year period. Studies also found that specifically in students who are in college, anxiety has increased 134 percent while ADHD has increased 72 percent.

The data has been challenged by questions that the data would not line up because the numbers were recorded by asking people about these conditions. As a result, the researchers took numbers for emergency room visits for self-harm and found that visits for girls were up 188 percent and 48 percent for boys.

While it is a big difference, these statistics, when associated with anxiety and depression, line up with the psychiatric categories of internalizing and externalizing disorders—internalizing being taking those emotions and withdrawing from social engagement, while externalizing is projecting them outwards.

“Males more inherently are going to be externalizers and females are going to be internalizing,” Hulsey said. “Knowing that, it makes a little bit more sense when you’re looking at that particular piece of data when you look at self-harm.”

Hulsey also finds it alarming that when looking at suicide rates for younger adolescents, ages 10-14, numbers were up 167 percent for girls and 97 percent for boys, knowing it is a huge concern for what is happening in today’s world.

With this bill, Hulsey desires to get students back on an upward trend from a mental and physical standpoint as a whole, discussing how cell phones are causing the future of the up and coming generations to be in danger.

“What I’m really wanting to do is minimize distractions because they definitely hinder academic success, but also, this is impeding students’ ability to develop critical face-to-face communication skills,” Hulsey said. “These phones are not keeping them safe, they’re just not. That’s the truth—it’s a hard truth, but it is the truth. The other part is the distraction. It’s affecting how they are learning.”

According to statistical research, more than 50 percent of students receive more than 237 notifications per day. Hulsey has said that as a result, 83 percent of teachers support an all-day phone-free policy.

In relation to that, the University of California conducted a study that saw when a student is focused and proceeds to get distracted, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain focus, which generally equates to about half of a class period.

“If you’ve got kids that are getting distracted multiple times in a single class, there’s no way they’re capable of maintaining a level of focus needed to retain the information that is being presented to them,” Hulsey said.

Hulsey took all of this information and more and ultimately formatted a solution to the issues in the form of the bill that is currently on the floor in Montgomery.

Should it pass, Hulsey believes that citizens, especially those involved in education, will see a massive positive change in students’ behavior, emotions, academic performance and more. She especially expects kids to become less anxious and stressed, as it would take away from the stress of focusing on social media.

The bill would also cause schools in Shelby County to revamp their current phone policies to conform with the standards that the bill sets, and ultimately, highly limit what students have access to should they gain access to any device during the instructional day.

THE PUSHBACK

With every matter that comes to the floor comes conflicting interests and pushback, and Hulsey has had plenty of it arise since the idea for this bill came about.

“People are definitely concerned about safety,” Hulsey said. “If there is an emergency that is a dangerous emergency situation that is going on in school, parents want to be able to get in touch with their children.”

It is a matter that has become prevalent in Shelby County within the last decade, with separate instances of school threats for multiple local schools.

Hulsey has expressed to many that she sympathizes with parents because she is one, and also understands that if an emergency were to happen with her child’s school, she would be prone to wanting to check on them as well.

She wants parents to know that this bill addresses that possibility, which finds that in the case of an emergency of a serious nature, students can use their phones.

Hulsey has also addressed the fact that those with medical needs such as diabetes will be allowed to use their devices for monitoring as long as it is filed within their plans as a medical issue.

There has also been a major concern from parents that they will not be able to address scheduling changes with their children while in school, an issue that already has an alternative in most schools even before this proposed bill.

“It’s the little one-off conversations that parents are used to having with their kids now while they’re at school, that they wouldn’t be able to have those anymore,” Hulsey said. “Kids are just always worried they’re missing something nonstop. The only way to get rid of that anxiousness is to just get it away from them, which means that we’re going to have to go back to what we did in the past in some regards on that, and that is just calling the school.”

Hulsey says that in her experience, though, she has not had a single teacher or board member go against the idea of having phones in schools, and that educators are in full support of what this bill would do.

LETTING THE PEOPLE KNOW

Should the F.O.C.U.S. Act completely pass, it will bring major change to the educational landscape around the state of Alabama, especially in Shelby County, where it will address many of the issues that some schools might have faced in recent memory.

The desire to take away phones in schools has varying opinions.

In polls conducted by the Shelby County Reporter on Facebook and Instagram, 63 percent were for phones being banned from the classroom on Facebook—an older demographic—and 89 percent were for phones being allowed in the classroom on Instagram—a younger demographic.

Hulsey made sure to emphasize that if it does pass, there will be an adjustment process, but it will get easier and yield good results.

“When school systems implement this, it usually takes everyone about six weeks to get used to the changes,” Hulsey said. “Eventually, we’re going to get used to this and it will be a new norm and a healthy environment for our kids to be in.”

Hulsey also made it clear that no matter what is going on at this current time, the floor is still listening to what people have to say, and she encourages people to voice their opinion on this massive piece of legislation.

“We are still listening,” Hulsey said. “The bill itself is a living, breathing document that will probably continue to change as we dialogue through it. We’re not rushing this piece through. We are trying to make sure that we are listening, but also using the information to ensure that it is the best possible piece that we can put together.”