Lt. Gov. Jon Husted recently discussed Ohio’s cell phone bans in schools during an interview with NewsMax’s Lydia Curanaj. He elaborated on the state’s approach to managing cell phone use among students, as shared in a December 17 post on X.
“Well, the evidence is clear,” said Husted, Lt. Governor. “Cell phone, smartphone use in schools, it undermines educational attainment, it leads to bullying, mental health problems. There’s an abundance of evidence of this. And so we have aggressively asked our schools of the state to develop cell phone policies, smart phone policies, where they would restrict them.”
According to Husted, “The students surprisingly say ‘yes, save us from ourselves.'” He noted that school districts are responsible for designing their own cell phone policies, with 61 percent of schools having implemented such measures. “The students surprisingly say ‘yes, save us from ourselves. These things are distracting in our lives.’ And they don’t want to give them up on their own because they don’t want to give up their phone when their friends have all their phones,” he said. Husted added that the absence of phones in classrooms improves the overall school culture.
In a December 11 post on X, Husted shared a Forbes article highlighting Ohio’s school cell phone policies. The U.S. Department of Education has urged states and schools to adopt policies regulating student cell phone use. The Forbes article by senior contributor Peter Greene reports that parents present challenges for school districts due to the need for constant communication and concerns over emergency situations.
Husted was adopted and raised in Williams County, Northwest Ohio, and holds multiple degrees from the University of Dayton. Before his political career, he served as vice president at the Dayton-Area Chamber of Commerce. His official biography notes that he has held positions as Ohio Secretary of State and House Speaker before being elected Lt. Governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He resides with his wife Tina and their three children.
