# The Focus on Learning Act: What It Does

This bill takes aim at smartphone and device use during school hours by funding a research study and pilot program to test whether keeping students' personal phones out of classrooms improves learning and behavior. The federal government would give money to selected school districts to buy secure containers and lockers where students store their phones during the school day, then study what happens when phones are put away.

The bill has two main parts. First, the Surgeon General would spend the next two years researching how phones affect students—looking at whether removing them improves grades, mental health, classroom focus, and student behavior. This research would include data from schools actually trying the phone-free approach. Second, the Department of Education would launch a pilot program giving grants to school districts willing to implement phone-free school days. Schools that get these grants would purchase containers to store student phones and create new policies keeping phones away during class time, lunch, and other school hours.

The bill includes important safeguards. Schools would still allow phones for students with disabilities who need them for medical reasons, English learners who use translation apps, and staff would keep phones for emergencies and communicating with each other. Parents would be notified at least 30 days before their school district applies for the grant, and schools would ask for parent feedback before implementing the policy. The bill sets aside $5 million to fund the pilot program from 2025 through 2029, with up to 2 percent going toward research and administrative costs.

Essentially, this is an experiment to see whether phone-free school environments actually help students focus and learn better. If the research shows positive results, it could influence how schools nationwide handle student device use.

Focus on Learning Act

Westerman, Bruce

Focus on Learning ActThis bill requires certain federal actions to address the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools.First, the bill directs the Office of the Surgeon General, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to study and report on the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools nationwide. Among other elements, this study must include the impact of mobile device use on student learning and academic achievement, student educational outcomes, and student mental health.Second, the Department of Education, in consultation with HHS, must establish a pilot program to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to enable participating schools served by such LEAs to purchase secure containers and install lockers in order to create a school environment free of mobile devices.