H.R. 1078·Middle School Intermediate
A Bill to Restrict Cellphone Use in Middle School Classrooms
Rep. Stewart (D-MN)
Conditions Title IV funds on a 'phones-away' policy during middle school instructional time, with safety carve-outs.
Sec. 1 — Mandate
Public middle schools receiving Title IV funds shall require cellphones to be stored away during instructional time.
Sec. 2 — Exception
Medical, IEP, and emergency safety uses are permitted.
Sec. 3 — Funding
$50 million for storage pouches and lockers.
Sec. 4 — Enforcement
Title IV audits.
Tournament Prep
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- H.R. 1078 — A Bill to Restrict Cellphone Use in Middle School Classrooms
- Funding source
- $50M from ED Title IV-A.
- Timeline
- Effective next school year.
- Realistic — Yondr-style pouches deployed in thousands of schools.
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Education.
- Yes — Title IV-A audit authority.
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Title IV-A funding adjustment.
- Source citation
- Common Sense Media (2023), 'Constant Companion: Teens and Mobile Phones' — commonsensemedia.org.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 1:00 (60s)
Strongest counter-argument
Phones are lifelines during school shootings — banning them puts kids at risk.
Your pre-emptive answer
Sec. 2 carves out emergency use. School safety experts (Stop the Bleed, Texas DPS reviews of Uvalde) actually warned that 100+ simultaneous student calls jam first responders — controlled comms via staff is safer.