State may urge cellphone bans in schools

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Jeffrey Riley, the state’s education commissioner, said this week that Massachusetts may begin encouraging school districts to ban cellphone use in schools, amid growing concerns that they have become a distraction and that the heavy use of social media on them can pose mental health risks.

Riley announced that the state would “likely” begin providing matching grants of up to $1 million in total across the state to districts that are interested in piloting changes to their cellphone policy, but the state is not mandating restrictions “at this time.” Riley did not say what the grants would pay for, but some districts have given students pouches to hold their phones throughout the day.

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