Twenty-two states have banned or limited cellphones in classrooms so far this year
So far this year, 22 states have enacted laws or policies banning or limiting cellphones in classrooms. Oregon enacted the most recent law via executive order on July 2.
Since 2023, 33 states have enacted laws or policies on cellphone use in K-12 classrooms.
- Twenty-six of those states ban or limit cellphones in classrooms.
- Three states require K-12 public school districts to adopt policies on student cellphone use, though the laws don’t specify what those policies need to contain.
- Four states encourage districts to limit cellphone use in K-12 classrooms.
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 AI guidance for K-12 school districts, bringing the total number of states that have issued such guidance to 27.
All the state-level guidance is voluntary, with state education departments saying it is intended to help districts consider how to ethically use or teach AI and provide them with a framework for developing their own policies.
Ballotpedia sits at the top of the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart
For another year, Ballotpedia sits at the top of the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart—the gold standard for measuring news source reliability and bias.
Each time this chart comes out, we are so proud. It is such an apt visual representation of our commitment to giving you the facts about elections, candidates, ballot measures, politics, and public policy. No spin. No agenda. Just reliable information you can trust.
This recognition isn’t really ours. It belongs to all of you: our readers who believe that democracy works best when voters have access to accurate, nonpartisan information. Help ensure we stay at the top of the chart by supporting our work!
A comprehensive look at 114 years of ballot measures in Massachusetts
In Tuesday’s Brew, we looked at historical ballot measures in Massachusetts. Our comprehensive inventory spans from 1910 to 2024. During that time, Massachusetts voters decided on 231 measures, approving 161 and defeating 70—a 69.7% approval rate.
Massachusetts has the fifth-highest approval rate of the 14 states for which we have completed Factbooks. Texas has the highest, at 74.6%, and Missouri has the lowest, at 46.4%.
Massachusetts ballot measures have addressed 131 unique topics. The most common topics are related to income taxes (17 measures), business regulations (15 measures), and state legislative processes and sessions (11 measures).