New Jersey governor calls for statewide ban on cell phones in school

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is calling for a statewide ban on cell phone use in public schools, for students in grades K-12.

Murphy called for the phone ban during his State of the State address on Tuesday.

"They are fueling a rise in cyberbullying. And they are making it incredibly difficult for our kids, not only to learn, but to retain the substance of what they learn. Honestly, is it any surprise that the rise in smartphone usage has coincided with a growing youth mental health crisis?" Murphy said.

It was a clear message from Murphy, who says he will no longer sit back and watch kids suffer.

The proposal is backed by both the New Jersey State Senate and the teachers union, who called on the Education Department to come up with a comprehensive cell phone and social media policy in all schools.

Research shows the majority of teachers find cellphones to be a classroom distraction and efforts to get students to put them away during instruction is difficult to enforce.

Delaware and Pennsylvania already offer funding to districts that require phones to be placed in bags or pouches out of reach of students.

However, supporters of phones in schools argue they should be allowed, for safety and communications reasons.

Cell phones are currently banned in Cherry Hill schools.

The New Jersey Education Association is expressing support for Murphy's proposal, saying, "Shared input and community buy-in will help ensure the success of those policies better than any one-size-fits-all ban imposed from above."