September 24, 2024 • 10 mins
California Assemblyman Josh Hoover joins A&G to talk about the bi-partisan effort behind the newly signed "Phone Free School Act".
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
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.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
I'm doing great, guys, great to be back.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Congratulations, well done. Nice to see something bipartisan happening in
calvi UNICORNEA.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
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,
(01:03):
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
(01:25):
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.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
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.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
I've heard you play the trumpet. I don't think you
need a law.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
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?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
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
(02:26):
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.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
The school day.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It just absolutely has a terrible impact on their academic
performance and their mental health.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
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?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
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
(03:24):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
But what the hell, why does it why can't it
be done by noon today?
Speaker 4 (03:35):
You're not allowed to have a cell phone and class anymore.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yeah, you'd have to ask the Democrats who demanded that.
I guess, I mean, seriously, what's the argument.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Those of us who aren't in government don't understand how
what's going on with you all people?
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I mean, it makes no sense to me whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
No more cell phones in class.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
You announce over the loudspeaker and it's done. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
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.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
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.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
But the reality is that.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
This is clearly a matter of statewide concern. All of
our kids need to be off their phones during the
school day.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, I understand it.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Now.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
I'll discuss that when you're when we're done with you. Yeah,
I'd like.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
To hear more about that anti trumpet legislation, though worth
mentioning last.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Phones go by the way.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
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,
(05:09):
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.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
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.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Absolutely, guys, thanks for covering this all right.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
You got it?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, yeah, it's a good move. It's a little frustrating
it takes that long a.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
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
(06:05):
hadn't been consulted on it or involved in the decision
at all.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
He didn't cancel it because it was a bad idea.
It was a great idea to have a TV station
come interviews.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
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.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
If you're going to have a TV interview or not.
You don't decide.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
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.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
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,
(07:00):
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.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
So every kid having a smartphone in their hand probably didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
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.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Yeah, Michael. Also, you parents use phones to track their kids.
There's apps where they can actually follow their kids.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
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
(07:55):
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?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
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
(08:26):
walking around looking at smartphones.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
After school while they're waiting for you to pick them up?
Who wants that?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Gosh, and kids can't communicate and look anybody in the
eye in our anxiety prone at every human interaction, I
wonder why.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
But seriously, what's the argument for other than the I
need to be able to get hold of them?
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Is that the only argument other.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Than all the other kids are doing it and Junior
will be very very angry at me if I don't
let my kid.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
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.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
All used to do.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Why. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
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.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
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?
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Didn't the cavemen walk around staring at the smartphones?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
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.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Armstrong and Getty
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.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
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.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
I'm doing great, guys, great to be back.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Congratulations, well done. Nice to see something bipartisan happening in
calvi UNICORNEA.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
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,
(01:03):
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
(01:25):
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.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
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.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
I've heard you play the trumpet. I don't think you
need a law.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
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?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
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
(02:26):
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.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
The school day.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It just absolutely has a terrible impact on their academic
performance and their mental health.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
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?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
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
(03:24):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
But what the hell, why does it why can't it
be done by noon today?
Speaker 4 (03:35):
You're not allowed to have a cell phone and class anymore.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yeah, you'd have to ask the Democrats who demanded that.
I guess, I mean, seriously, what's the argument.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Those of us who aren't in government don't understand how
what's going on with you all people?
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I mean, it makes no sense to me whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
No more cell phones in class.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
You announce over the loudspeaker and it's done. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
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.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
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.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
But the reality is that.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
This is clearly a matter of statewide concern. All of
our kids need to be off their phones during the
school day.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, I understand it.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Now.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
I'll discuss that when you're when we're done with you. Yeah,
I'd like.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
To hear more about that anti trumpet legislation, though worth
mentioning last.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Phones go by the way.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
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,
(05:09):
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.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
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.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Absolutely, guys, thanks for covering this all right.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
You got it?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, yeah, it's a good move. It's a little frustrating
it takes that long a.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
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
(06:05):
hadn't been consulted on it or involved in the decision
at all.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
He didn't cancel it because it was a bad idea.
It was a great idea to have a TV station
come interviews.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
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.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
If you're going to have a TV interview or not.
You don't decide.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
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.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
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,
(07:00):
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.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
So every kid having a smartphone in their hand probably didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
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.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Yeah, Michael. Also, you parents use phones to track their kids.
There's apps where they can actually follow their kids.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
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
(07:55):
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?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
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
(08:26):
walking around looking at smartphones.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
After school while they're waiting for you to pick them up?
Who wants that?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Gosh, and kids can't communicate and look anybody in the
eye in our anxiety prone at every human interaction, I
wonder why.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
But seriously, what's the argument for other than the I
need to be able to get hold of them?
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Is that the only argument other.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Than all the other kids are doing it and Junior
will be very very angry at me if I don't
let my kid.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
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.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
All used to do.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Why. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
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.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
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?
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Didn't the cavemen walk around staring at the smartphones?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
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.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
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