Governor Ferguson makes phone‑free schools a top legislative priority

Governor Bob Ferguson told an assembled audience at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane that he will make a statewide "phone‑free schools" policy a top priority in the next legislative session. "We're talking today, of course, about phone free schools," he said, describing a plan that would remove smart devices — including smart watches — from students during the school day.

Ferguson cited studies and offered a quantified example: "So every school year, if you add that up, we lose 41 days of learning because students are looking at their phones, not at their teacher." He said the policy would aim to store devices away for the day and that the first year of a rollout would avoid suspensions for violations to ease the transition.

The governor described the proposal as a statewide minimum that would give school districts flexibility in operational details, such as using pouches or check‑in systems. "We want districts to decide what system works best for them," he said, while urging lawmakers not to create so many exceptions that the rule is swallowed by them.

Ferguson said the idea is low‑cost and would not require major budgetary changes: "This is something we can do at essentially no cost that will improve students' well‑being, that will improve student outcomes all across our state." He framed the proposal as consistent with local efforts in Spokane and other districts and said he expects a robust legislative conversation in the coming session.