Cellphone ban dies; literacy and teacher health insurance bills head to governor's desk

A bill that would have banned cellphone use in schools across New Mexico stalled at the finish line of the state Legislature.

Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Sens. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, and Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque, faltered in the House of Representatives after passing the Senate 32-6 late Sunday night.

"We were actually pretty surprised," Brantley said after the Legislature adjourned Thursday. "(The bill) passed the Senate chamber with heavy bipartisan support."

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also listed the cellphone ban as one of her priorities for the session in her state of the state address last month.

The House Education Committee did not meet Wednesday, so it did not take up the bill before the end of the legislative session Thursday, which would have been necessary for the legislation to move forward.

"It got hung up over in the House because House Education, just in the final week, refused to meet," Brantley said. "There really hasn't been an explanation as to why. I know the (Public Education Department) secretary was pushing hard (for the bill), and we're all pretty disappointed that that wasn't at least blasted to the floor."

House Education Chair Rep. G. Andrés Romero, D-Albuquerque, said the committee didn't meet because legislators typically get tied up on the floor toward the end of a session. Romero said though he wouldn't necessarily have been supportive of the cellphone ban, he hopes to be able to explore the issue further.

New Mexico already has a law requiring school districts to adopt a policy on the use of cellphones after last year's passage of Senate Bill 11, also sponsored by Brantley and Maestas. Under the current law, schools do not have to completely ban phones, though some may choose to.

"The school districts are able to implement the policy that they see fit," Romero said. "I think implementing a statewide ban is something we need to look at in the interim and really give some thought and bring all the stakeholders to the table to talk about."

The passage of SB 23 would have made New Mexico the 27th state in the country to ban cellphones in schools, according to Brantley.

"This is a national trend that is taking place across America," Brantley told the Senate Education Committee during a hearing. "It is a bipartisan effort."

The bill would have banned all devices capable of taking photographs or recording video and would have mandated that schools establish policies for confiscating and storing the devices. Up to $1 million in state funding would have been available for lockable pouches to keep phones during the day.

SB 23 received support from the state Public Education, Higher Education and Early Childhood Education and Care departments, as well as multiple education policy groups and both New Mexico teachers unions.

Though no one formally opposed the measure in the Senate committee hearing, several senators showed reservations, including Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, a former teacher, who called the ban "totally unenforceable" and argued that it was an overreach of state authority.

"Good teachers rarely have a problem with devices in classrooms," Soules said.

House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said in a Thursday news conference the proposed cellphone ban did not arrive at the House until the final days of this year's 30-day legislative session. Martínez told reporters the idea would be scrutinized by House leaders in the run-up to next year's 60-day session.

Though it stalled this year, Brantley said she would "be happy to" sponsor a similar bill in the future under a new governor.

"It's something that's important to me," she said. "I hope that it is discussed in the interim, because we know that New Mexico's education system can use all the help it can get."

Literacy and school employee benefits bills pass

A bill that would bolster literacy instruction in schools and another that would lower health insurance premiums for teachers both cleared the Legislature and will advance to Lujan Grisham's desk for her signature.

Senate Bill 37, a measure that would set a grade-specific reading assessment system for kindergarten through third grade, passed unanimously in the Senate at the end of last month and unanimously in the House on Thursday morning.

SB 37 would set guidelines on reading instruction materials, require teachers to be trained in literacy instruction, and would assign a literacy coach to elementary schools with low average reading proficiency.

The measure is a companion bill to Senate Bill 29, legislation aimed at improving math instruction that cleared both the House and Senate.

Public school employees will also get cheaper health insurance premiums if the governor signs House Bill 47, which passed both chambers of the Legislature unanimously.

The bill requires employers to pay at least 80% of health insurance premiums, giving school workers parity with other state employees, who have had this benefit since last year.

The governor has until March 11 to sign legislation, or it will be automatically vetoed.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.