Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #168

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving  school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. 

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

  • On the issues: The debate over cellphones in schools 
  • In your district: Cellphone restrictions
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • Five states have released K-12 Artificial Intelligence (AI) guidance this year
  • School board authority across the 50 states series (Week 7): How statewide laws regarding book bans, removals, and restrictions affect school board authority
  • Extracurricular: education news and numbers from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

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On the issues: The debate over cellphones in schools

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

More than half of all states restrict student cellphone usage in K-12 public schools. Educators, district officials, parents, and lawmakers continue to debate the best approach to regulating cellphones in schools. 

Below, we present two contrasting opinions on cellphone restrictions. 

Boston School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez writes that cellphone bans seek to treat symptoms, not deeper issues related to student health and academic performance. He says banning cellphones hurts underprivileged kids and prevents students from learning to properly use technology.

The Weatherford Texas Democrat Editorial Board writes that cellphones negatively affect focus, brain activity, sleep, and other aspects of student health. They say Texas’ law banning cellphones will likely benefit students overall, and opposition to new rules is overblown. 

School cell phone bans are a distraction. The real crisis isn’t in your kid’s hand. | Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, El Paso Times

“Here’s what I’ve seen in the classroom: when you take away cell phones, you don’t create equity – you erase it. In underfunded schools, smartphones are calculators, translators, research tools and sometimes the only reliable internet connection a student has. For multilingual learners, for kids without Wi-Fi at home, that device is a lifeline. When we ban it, we’re not protecting them – we’re pulling up the ladder. … I believe in meeting kids where they are – because that’s where real learning begins. Not all screens are created equal, and the goal isn’t to eliminate technology but to use it wisely. There’s a big difference between passive consumption and purposeful practice. … Our kids deserve better than blanket bans and wishful thinking. They deserve an education built for the world they’re actually going to live in.”

With Cellphone Bans, the Pros Outweigh the Cons | The Weatherford Texas Democrat Editorial Board, Government Technology

“As districts reveal their plans to abide by the new law, recent comments online have shown parents are in an uproar at the idea their child wouldn’t have cellphone access at school. (Funnily enough, the responses from the students we’ve encountered are more curious than anything.) Truthfully, we don’t really get the anger. After all, the law isn’t black and white. There are exceptions, including cellphone allowance when used for educational purposes, with a doctor’s note or when phone use meets health and safety protocols…The rule may not be perfect, and may take time to refine. But we see it as having more advantages than not. Other schools have already opted in to it, but you’d likely never know. Why? Because the impact wasn’t near as detrimental as some are forecasting it to be.”

In your district: Cellphone restrictions

We want to hear what’s happening in your school district. Please complete the very brief survey below—anonymously, if you prefer—and we may share your response with fellow subscribers in an upcoming newsletter.

States and districts are taking a variety of approaches to regulating student cellphone use. Twenty-six states have passed laws restricting when students can access their phones during school hours, with some requiring districts to implement a “bell-to-bell” ban and others prohibiting phones during class time. A third of states, however, have not passed any laws restricting student cellphone use in K-12 public schools, leaving the decision to local boards.  

What role should schools play in managing student cellphone use during the day? How does your district’s current policy align or conflict with your own view?

Click here to respond!

You can read our previous reader surveys and responses here. 

School board update: filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications

In 2025, Ballotpedia will cover elections for more than 30,000 school board seats. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on covering the country’s more than 80,000 school board seats.    

  • Aug. 12—Minnesota, Utah
  • Aug. 26—Alabama
  • Sept. 16—New Hampshire

Five states have released K-12 Artificial Intelligence (AI) guidance this year

Since January, education departments in five states—Georgia, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico—have released guidance for K-12 school districts on AI, bringing the number of states that have issued AI guidance to 27. 

Most recently, in July, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) released “Artificial Intelligence Guidance for Local Education Agencies.” New Mexico released its guidance in May, Nevada in March, Maine in February, and Georgia in January. 

Ballotpedia has compiled the 27 guidance documents into a one-stop resource. The documents broadly share the following themes:

  • AI literacy
  • Bias and ethical concerns
  • Privacy and security 
  • Access
  • Academic integrity
  • Strategies for AI integration

All the state-level guidance is voluntary, intended to help districts think through how to ethically use or teach AI and provide them with a framework for developing their own policies. A June Gallup poll found that while 60% of teachers used AI during the 2024-25 school year, only 19% said their districts had a formal AI policy. 

Since late 2022, when ChatGPT first became widely known and available, the use of generative AI platforms in schools has risen sharply each year. According to an April 2025 Quizlet survey of students aged 14 to 22, 89% reported using AI for schoolwork—up from 77% in 2024. 

Because generative AI platforms can quickly create computer code, write essays, solve math problems, and answer questions on seemingly endless topics, district officials and state education leaders have sought to develop frameworks that allow students and teachers to harness the technology while curbing cheating and other illicit uses. 

Hall Pass has featured debate over the use of AI in classrooms here, here, here, and here. 

According to the Education Commission of the States (ECS), at least 20 states have introduced bills related to AI and education this year. Mississippi lawmakers passed SB 2426, which created an AI task force.  

School board authority across the 50 states series (Week 7): How state laws setting library book policies affect school board authority

Welcome back to our series on the state laws constraining school board authority. Last week, we discussed state laws regulating when students can access their cellphones during the school day. This week, we turn to laws regulating school libraries.    

State laws generally give school boards oversight over instructional material, including the regulation and curation of school library books. Board members often delegate those decisions to principals, libraries, or committees of librarians, teachers, and others. 

In recent years, lawmakers in some states have limited school boards’ authority over library books. 

States that include specific requirements for school boards on the selection and removal of school library books typically fall into one of the following frameworks. Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies. 

  • Twenty-four states do not require local boards to develop specific policies on school library book selection
  • Ten states require school boards to develop a policy for the removal of books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
  • Eight states prohibit school boards from removing books on the grounds that they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
  • Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
  • Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
  • Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.

Here are some examples:

  • Iowa: Requires that schools provide a list to parents, requires that each school district create and publish a policy for handling requests to remove materials from school libraries, and requires that the identities of parents who request materials be removed be kept confidential.
  • Texas: Authorizes school boards to establish a school library book advisory council to advise the board on the acquisition, removal, or restriction of school library materials. State law prohibits books containing what the law defines as sexually explicit, indecent, harmful, or profane material in school libraries.
  • Oregon: Prohibits the removal of library materials on the basis that they include a perspective, study, or story of any individual or group against whom discrimination is prohibited under Oregon law.
  • Nebraska: Requires school districts to establish a process for notifying parents about books students check out from the school library.

Read more about library book policies in each state by visiting our school board authority project hub page and selecting a state of interest! See you next week for a look at how Ballotpedia’s policy team conducted this research.

Extracurricular: education news from around the web

This section contains links to recent education-related articles from around the internet. If you know of a story we should be reading, reply to this email to share it with us! 

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re looking at survey responses from two candidates running in Aug. 12 school board elections. 

Jane Diane Hoffman is one of five candidates running in the nonpartisan primary for two at-large seats on the Duluth Public Schools school board, in Minnesota. Duluth Public Schools, located on the eastern edge of the state, near Lake Superior, is the 19th largest district in Minnesota. Roughly 8,700 students attend the district. 

Jason Theler is one of four candidates running in a special nonpartisan primary for Seat 7 on the Aspen Peaks School District school board, in Utah. The Aspen Peaks School District was created when the Alpine School District was split up into three new school districts through multiple ballot measures that voters approved on Nov. 5, 2024. The Alpine School District will cease to exist, and the Aspen Peaks School District will officially begin on July 1, 2027.

The Alpine School District is the largest in Utah, with roughly 87,000 students. 

Here’s how Hoffman answered the question, “What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?”

  • “Students should have a diverse learning experience that focuses on critical thinking and community growth and less on internet driven assignments and studies.
  • Don’t make irrational decisions when narrowing the budget. Preserve jobs such as Library Media Specialist in all schools and Athletic Director in high schools. Don’t substitute these positions with lesser trained people.
  • Transparency in the hiring process at Duluth Schools. Eliminate unnecessary delays, inform candidates in a timely manner of interview times. HR should be sending all candidates to the schools to review candidates. Don’t overlook employees with subjectiveness.”

Click here to read the rest of Hoffman’s responses. 

Here’s how Theler answered the question, “What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?”

  • “HELP CREATE A SYNERGISTIC SCHOOL BOARD that engages in robust, respectful dialogue focused on promoting student success, partnering with parents, and supporting high-quality teaching and that models collaborative decorum for all other entities within the district.
  • RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO STAKEHOLDER INPUT so community values, parental expectations, teacher needs, and legislative directives are thoughtfully weaved into student-success goals and strategically aligned with district policy, budget, and curriculum decisions.
  • APPOINT A GREAT SUPERINTENDENT AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR to facilitate the effective and efficient day-to-day governance of district affairs, lead efforts to find, implement, and monitor the best educational and fiscal practices, and provide district schools and departments with sufficient training and resources to pursue stated objectives.”

Click here to read the rest of Theler’s responses. 

If you’re a school board candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey.

The survey contains more than 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will appear in your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also appear in our sample ballot.

And if you’re not running for school board, but there is an election in your community this year, share the link with the candidates and urge them to take the survey!