HB 5035, An Act Requiring School Districts To Ban Cellular Phones In The Classroom

TESTIMONY OF THE CONNECTICUT HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
SUBMITTED TO THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Friday, February 20, 2026

The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) appreciates this opportunity to submit testimony concerning HB 5035, An Act Requiring School Districts To Ban Cellular Phones In The Classroom.  CHA has specific concerns that HB 5035, as written, without more targeted exceptions, might negatively impact patients’ healthcare. 

Connecticut hospitals make our state stronger by delivering nationally recognized, world-class care, supporting jobs and economic growth, and serving communities across Connecticut.  Every day, hospitals improve access, affordability, and health equity — providing care to all patients regardless of ability to pay.  At the same time, hospitals invest in their workforce and local communities, even as they navigate significant financial and federal challenges.

The overall goal of HB 5035 is to stop students in K-12 schools from using devices during the “school day” if those devices can be connected to the internet.  The list of devices that would be prohibited during the school day is broad and would include a variety of medical devices as well as software applications that run on cellphones, smart watches, tablets, and other devices.  These devices are essential to support certain types of medical monitoring or other important personal healthcare-related activities, including providing care reminders, feedback, monitoring critical devices used for care and oversight of conditions such as asthma, diabetes, cardiac issues, and mental and behavioral health conditions.

The bill includes several exceptions to the ban, including exceptions for Individual Education Plans (IEP), under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004, or for patients with disabilities.  There is a limited exception for medical issues at lines 31-33, which reads as follows:

[a student in a public school in the state may use or access a wireless communication device during the school day if ….]

(B) a licensed physician, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse determines that such use or access is necessary for the health and well-being of such student.

This exception is too narrow, particularly during initial phases while students are adjusting to the new rules and prohibitions. 

We appreciate the state’s desire to reduce students’ distractions.  At the same time, it is essential to minimize intrusion into students’ medical and healthcare needs (or the healthcare needs of others).  A health-related exception to a ban should be broader and easier to understand, at least initially. 

New York recently passed a similar law banning devices in schools.  The New York provisions recognize a broader range of instances in which the healthcare needs of a student, or of another person, would warrant an exception to the ban, including as “necessary for the management of a student’s healthcare” and “on a case-by-case basis, upon review and determination by a school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor, for a student caregiver who is routinely responsible for the care and wellbeing of a family member.”

To address these concerns, we urge you to insert additional exceptions such as subparagraphs (C) and (D) of subdivision (2) of section (b) that clarifies the intent of the law as follows:

Starting at lines 24:

(b)(2) A student in a public school in the state may use or access a wireless communication device during the school day if…

(C) it is necessary for the healthcare of the student, or

(D) the student is a caregiver who is routinely responsible for the well-being of a family member or other person.

Thank you for your consideration of our position.  For additional information, contact CHA Government Relations at (203) 294-7301.