Boston City Council hears divided testimony on school cell phone ban proposal

BOSTON — August 12, 2025 — Boston City Council education committee hears sharply divided testimony on banning phones in BPS schools. Councillors Benjamin J. Weber, Enrique J. Pepén, and Sharon Durkan convened a packed August 12 hearing chaired by Councillor Henry Santana on Docket 0905, examining the impact of social media on Boston Public Schools students as the Massachusetts Senate's July 31 passage of Senate Bill 2561 — which would require bell-to-bell cell phone bans in all public schools by fall 2026 — awaits House action. English High School Principal Caitlin Murphy testified that her school's all-day Yonder pouch system, covering 750 students, has recovered roughly 30 hours of lost instructional time per class per year and sharply reduced peer conflicts. Liza Hirsch of Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's Children's Justice Unit reported that 82 percent of Massachusetts districts with comprehensive phone policies reported no drawbacks, while Dr. David Bickham of Boston Children's Hospital's Digital Wellness Lab found that 29 percent of students nationally said phone policies made them feel less safe — rising to 45 percent among nonbinary or transgender youth. Boston Student Advisory Council members, backed by a 1,200-student petition coordinated through BPS's Office of Youth Leadership under Director Denise Rory, argued that outright bans undercut discipline-building and create equity and safety gaps that must be resolved before any district-wide policy is enacted.