House Bill 208 was signed into law on March 26th and requires all local school boards to adopt a policy that prohibits student use of cellphones during the school day. This bill goes against section 2 of the Kentucky Constitution and restricts student’s First Amendment rights.
This bill also requires all students who violate the policy to be punished by board policy. These punishments most often include the school taking a student’s phone for an extended period of time.
Section 2 of the Kentucky Constitution states “Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority.” This bill violates section 2 of the Kentucky Constitution because this section states that the government does not have full power over anyone’s life, liberty, and property.
These phone bills and the required punishments that almost always involve the confiscation of student’s property which directly violates the Kentucky Constitution. Student’s cellphones are property and should not be taken away by the government.
House Bill 208 states “[Includes] social media in prohibited material to be made inaccessible through school technology and provide the scope of social media to be prohibited.”
The first amendment gives everyone free speech which includes social media. If the government prohibits all use of social media in schools it restricts student’s free speech
All students have rights that should never be violated for any reason. It does not matter if they are 8 years old or 18 years old. Bills like House Bill 208 restrict student’s rights and should not be passed.
David Harrell • Apr 6, 2025 at 5:54 PM
These are kids under 18
They can’t live on their own , they are restricted to an age limit as to when they can work when they can drive when they can drink when they can smoke when they can buy a firearm
And you’re saying it’s a violation of their rights to not have a cell phone in school
Give me a break. Common sense is very scarce in this country today , kids in school can’t just get up and leave anytime they want , so it’s that kidnapping and violating their rights also
People use your brain for once , kids go to school to learn not play on their phones that mommy and daddy got them so they could fit in and be like everyone else
Spencer • Apr 5, 2025 at 10:23 PM
I am a teacher in a JCPS middle school, and before that, I taught in a high school in Hardin County. Students pay no attention to class while they have their cell phones in class. They text each other nude photos in class. They cyberbully each other in class. They text plans for fights while in class, and text the location aso that the whole school can go video the fight on their phones. They have social media sites set up to upload fight footage to. I can go on and on, but the argume t that this is a violation of property rights is facile and wrong. It is illegal to text and drive, and in some states I cannot even use Bluetooth to talk on the phone while driving. I can still own a phone, I just cannot use it in my own car. I cannot use my cell phone while at the movies. I cannot film a movie with my phone while in a theater. None of these restrictions affect my phone ownership. I am free to overuse it elsewhere. Now, Kentucky teachers will be able to get more attention back from their students, and I daresay, we will raise our knowledge and test scores for each student.
Cameron Crawford • Apr 5, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Wish this was written by a 16 year old from kentucky
Dan • Apr 4, 2025 at 9:51 PM
There were no cellphones in the 70s, 80s or 90s for kids to have.
Kids can leave phones in lockers or shut them off and put in bag.
Eldon Wall Sr. • Apr 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Cell phones have no use in the classroom. Students are there to learn cell phones are an obstruction to that process.