The idea of your kid having a smartphone in the classroom is moronic. I can't believe anybody even considers allowing it. But California may have set the standard for the whole country, as they often do. The Governor, Gavin Newsom has signed into law the Phone Freeze School Act.
And we welcome Josh Hoover, California Assemblyman, to the show. Josh was behind the bipartisan act trying to protect kids from the harms of smartphone use during the school day. Josh, how are you.
I'm doing great, guys, great to be back.
Congratulations, well done. Nice to see something bipartisan happening in calvi UNICORNEA.
Yeah, absolutely agree. You know what we have seen from twenty ten to twenty nineteen, we've seen anxiety and depression rates among adolescents go up by over fifty percent, the suicide rates gone up forty eight percent, and among young gers g al specifically from ten to fourteen years old, we've seen the suicide ray you go up one hundred
and thirty one percent. These are statistics that Jonathan Height, who I know you guys talked about a lot on your show, breaks down in his book The Anxious generation, And what he says is, you know, one of the things we've seen during that same period of time is the increased use of smartphones among young people. I'm a dad of teenagers, and this is something I'm very passionate
about getting a hold of. So we introduced the Phone Free Schools Act to really limit access to that during the school day.
Well, so, what was the pushback on this? Like, I can't believe there even needs to be a law. I doubt there's a specific law that says you're not allowed to play the trumpet in class. Who would just all agree that that's a bad idea nobody needs.
I've heard you play the trumpet. I don't think you need a law.
What is the pushback on this other than what if there's an emergency? Is there any other pushback other than the ridiculous overstated what if there's an emergency?
Yeah, so the bill actually includes exemptions for emergencies, So if there was ever an emergency, you certainly could give students back access to the phones. But absolutely, I mean, this is a very simple rule to implement in schools. We're not talking about Nokia's with the game Snake and texting on them. I mean, we're talking about access to
social media, which is the real problem. Gallup, the relatest Gallop numbers actually found that kids are spending American teenagers are spending five hours per day on social media apps alone and during.
The school day.
It just absolutely has a terrible impact on their academic performance and their mental health.
So, Josh, we were cracking wise earlier about the fact that it takes that the Phone Free Schools Act gives county education offices until July first of twenty twenty six to draft their pol Why the heck does it take that long?
Well, you know, this is kind of just part of the negotiation process, I would. You know, a lot of school districts, including by the Way, former school district I used to represent, and Los Angeles Unified, which is the largest school district in California, have already voted on these policies, So it's already happening in a number of places throughout the state. But this puts a hard deadline on every
district in California to take action. I wish it was a little sooner, but I think it's important that we're forcing them to take action.
But what the hell, why does it why can't it be done by noon today?
You're not allowed to have a cell phone and class anymore.
Yeah, you'd have to ask the Democrats who demanded that. I guess, I mean, seriously, what's the argument.
Well, it absolutely could be done by today. And actually our hope is that, you know, this really pushes it over for districts to start having this conversation immediately. But I agree with you, it should be sooner.
Those of us who aren't in government don't understand how what's going on with you all people?
I mean, it makes no sense to me whatsoever.
No more cell phones in class.
You announce over the loudspeaker and it's done. Yeah.
A lot of these school districts, and Josh, you can speak to this, are of fifetoms or do you say fiefdoms where you know, the local school boards and the teachers' unions and the administration they don't appreciate anybody meddling with their deal.
Yeah.
This bill was actually opposed by the school Boards Association. They were actually the only opponent, and it was largely due to a local control argument.
But the reality is that.
This is clearly a matter of statewide concern. All of our kids need to be off their phones during the school day.
Yeah, I understand it.
Now.
I'll discuss that when you're when we're done with you. Yeah, I'd like.
To hear more about that anti trumpet legislation, though worth mentioning last.
Phones go by the way.
You'll take my trombone when you pry it out of my No, you can have it, come to think of it. Last year, Florida passed the rule barring students cell phones from K through twelve. Similar law goes into effect next year in Indiana. Ohio, the governor as signed a bill makes schools come up with policies to minimize student cell
phone use wait to impost half measures of Ohio. In Virginia, the governors also ordered schools to have cell phone free education by January, and in New York City, they said last month they would table plans to introduce cell phone ban, which had been in effect until twenty fifteen. What see year twenty twenty four. Last I check, Eric Adams probably got a bribe to keep them in classrooms.
Anyway.
You don't have to comment on that, Josh. All right, well that's good news. We say, well done, and it's good to talk to you as always.
Absolutely, guys, thanks for covering this all right.
You got it?
Yeah, yeah, it's a good move. It's a little frustrating it takes that long a.
Little, it's just done. But I understand it now. So here's my example. Quite a few years ago, Joe and I had we're going to do a TV station was going to come to an interview with us here at the radio station, and had a brand new boss starting that day found out that the TV station was going to come interview us, and he canceled it because he hadn't been consulted on it or involved in the decision at all.
He didn't cancel it because it was a bad idea. It was a great idea to have a TV station come interviews.
But it wasn't a good look for who decides what when, So he canceled it to make it clear that no, no, no, I decide.
If you're going to have a TV interview or not. You don't decide.
That's what's going on with the pushback on the cell phone thing, right, the teacher's unis or whatever. I have to say, no, no, no, no, you don't tell us what to do, right, even if we're agreement with this we'll decide how it rolls out when it rolls out.
Yeah.
Well, I'm generally very sympathetic to the idea of local control of virtually everything, including schools. But to have such an undeniably awful force in any classroom is it's indefensible on any level. It is a TV screen and a telephone, and a porno film and a casino and have a dozen other things I can't think of. To have a smartphone in the kid's hands during the school day, it's it's obscenely, ridiculously beyond the pale to even consider permitting them.
So every kid having a smartphone in their hand probably didn't.
Ah, but it's worth I'm sorry, but it's worth pointing out. It's often the parents that opposed the band because they're so used to being able to reach out and contact Junior twenty four to seven.
Yeah, Michael. Also, you parents use phones to track their kids. There's apps where they can actually follow their kids.
What do you need to track your kid at school for he's at school, they've been tag in their ear No school. So I'm I'm thinking most kids did not have a smartphone until two thousand and Tennis because they came out and roughly what seven oh eight, and they're too expensive and kids wouldn't have had him, So that might even be a little earlier. But so is that too early for you? View it too had that experience with your kids? They're all out by then or not?
Yeah?
Yeah, anyway, just because I don't like the fact that it's only in classrooms, I don't because I pull up to the school, every single kid standing on the sidewalk or you know, on the playground or wherever, is staring at their phone. I don't want it there either. No, who does? Who wants them off? Who wants the kids walking around looking at smartphones.
After school while they're waiting for you to pick them up? Who wants that?
Gosh, and kids can't communicate and look anybody in the eye in our anxiety prone at every human interaction, I wonder why.
But seriously, what's the argument for other than the I need to be able to get hold of them?
Is that the only argument other.
Than all the other kids are doing it and Junior will be very very angry at me if I don't let my kid.
Well, they wouldn't all be doing it if it were against the rules. Why are their smartphones allowed at school at all? Why do you get to use it for a half hour leading up to the bell ringing and in between classes and through the whole lunch hour and on all school trips where they all ride together and stare at their phones instead of talking and joking like we.
All used to do.
Why. I don't know.
It's a horrible development. It's like a dread disease has afflicted humanity. But the dread disease was the genius of Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley.
Well, and as always say, those of us who are older will all be dead soon and there will be nobody to even ask why wouldn't we Hasn't it always been this way?
Didn't the cavemen walk around staring at the smartphones?
Well? And then, like doctor Fauci, took a dread disease and really amped it up, really gave it that gain of function. The Mark Zuckerberg's of the world took that wonderful, awful invention and made it even worse, put the spike proteins of social media on it. And here we are. Wasn't the atom baumb folks, It was the Internet ended humanity.
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