POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: School cellphone ban calling

 

BY KELLY GARRITY

School cellphone ban calling

By KELLY GARRITY 

 

07/09/2025

DO NOT DISTURB — Massachusetts could become the next state to ban cellphone use during school, a relief for state lawmakers and parents concerned about the effects devices described as “electronic cocaine” at a recent hearing are having on kids.

The state Senate advanced a new version of a state Sen. Julian Cyr's bill that would require schools to ban the use of cellphones and other electronic devices from the first bell in the morning to the last bell letting students out in the afternoon.

“The cellphone is one of the most distracting devices ever created,” Senate President Karen Spilka and state Sen. Jason Lewis, the co-chair of the Education Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. “Overwhelming evidence shows us that cellphones are major barriers to student growth and achievement in the classroom, and they make it harder for our talented educators to teach.”

According to the bill, schools would be required to have a mechanism in place to enforce the ban, but what that looks like would be up to each district. If it passes this session, it would take effect in the 2026-2027 school year.

A handful of school districts across the state already limit or ban cellphone use during school hours or on school property. Boston and Brockton began using Yondr pouches — small bags with magnetic locks — last year. Worcester also recently started implementing an updated policy on students’ use of devices in schools.

There are some caveats: School districts can allow for several exceptions, and they have to offer a way for parents to reach students during the school day.

The bill moves Massachusetts closer toward the new norm in the more than two dozen states that have laws on the books restricting cellphone use during the school day. California, New York and Florida have all moved to limit the use of phones in class. And New Hampshire recently approved its own so-called bell-to-bell to ban after pressure from Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte.

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips, scoops, got a better metaphor than 'electronic cocaine'? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com. 

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs a Governor’s Council meeting at noon at the State House. Sen. Ed Markey hosts a virtual event with Small Business for America’s Future on the impact of tariffs on small businesses at 2 p.m. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at 1 p.m.

Playbook, the unofficial guide to official Washington, isn’t just a newsletter — it’s a podcast, too. With new co-hosts who bring unmatched Trump world reporting and analysis, The Playbook Podcast dives deeper into the power plays shaping Washington. Get the insider edge—start listening now.

EYES ON 2026

***I HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO ENDURE SEVERAL PERFORMANCES BY BRUCE TARR IN THE SENATE...NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE! JUST ANTICS! NOT SURE IF HIS ANTICS HAVE IMPROVED! NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME!****

SURVEY SAYS ??? — State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr won’t quash (or confirm) speculation he’s eyeing his own bid for governor.

But in a sign he could be serious about seeking higher office, he did recently commission a poll that looked at “multiple important elections” and issues, according to a campaign spokesperson.

Tarr’s campaign declined to share the results of the survey, which state campaign finance records show he paid $19,600 for in June. But the findings “make me encouraged about Republican leadership in Massachusetts,” Tarr told Playbook last week.

— Republicans running for Massachusetts governor attack each other over fundraising by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor of Massachusetts, accused Brian Shortsleeve, another conservative gubernatorial candidate, of inflating his fundraising numbers in a pair of public announcements over the past two months. Candidates regularly release public statements about their monthly fundraising that feature numbers different from what is found on the public campaign finance database maintained by the state. That is typically a result of delays by candidates’ banks in reporting data to regulators.” 

BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG PAYWALL

— Western Massachusetts’ most powerful pol endorses Ed Markey’s 2026 reelection bid by John L. Micek, MassLive: “The dean of Massachusetts’s Capitol Hill delegation, joined by two dozen state, regional, and local leaders from across Western Massachusetts, has endorsed U.S. Sen. Ed Markey’s 2026 reelection bid. The endorsement from U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-1st District, comes as Markey continues to sew up support from key Democratic leaders as he looks to head off any additional primary challengers.”

excerpts: 

In a statement, Neal said Markey has a “tremendous record securing victories for Western Massachusetts, and we need him back in the United States Senate.”

Markey, 78, of Malden, has faced questions about his age: He’ll be 80 on Election Day, as some Democrats push for a generational change in Washington.

Alex Rikleen, 38, of Acton, is so far the only Democratic candidate to throw his hat in the ring for 2026 against Markey. He has never sought elected office before, according to his campaign’s website.

Neal’s “leadership, his seniority, and his tenacity have resulted in the expansion of quality health care, critical investments in transportation and infrastructure, and the creation of good-paying jobs that make this region a vibrant place to live, work, and play,” Markey said.

The rest of the endorsement list shared with MassLive read like a Who’s Who of the region’s political upper crust.

In addition to Sarno, it includes Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle; North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey; Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau.

State Sens. Adam Gomez, D-Hampden, and Jake Oliveira, D-Hampden/Hampshire/Worcester, also are backing Markey, according to the list his campaign released.

Twelve members of the region’s delegation to the state House of Representatives are backing Markey. Ditto for long-serving Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Governor’s Councilor Tara Jacobs.

The list is rounded out by influential former pols, including ex-state Sen. Eric Lesser and ex-Rep. Daniel Bosley, and others.

Last week, Markey rolled out a similar slate of endorsements on the other side of the state in Eastern Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss has been mentioned as a potential 2026 contender.

Auchincloss has insisted that he’s only interested in running for reelection to his Newton-based seat. But he also has not explicitly closed the door on a run.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— Cost high to expand background checks for shelter applicants by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “The cost of strengthening security in the state’s family emergency shelter system could be significant, and cause delays for applicants seeking temporary housing. A recent report from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities outlines two options for implementing the background checks through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) operated by the FBI. The first is for the agency to directly manage the process, which would require purchasing fingerprint scanning equipment, develop protocols, hiring and training extra staff to submit fingerprints directly. The second is to use a third party vendor, like Idemia, the vendor currently under contract for similar work with other state agencies.”

excerpts: 

A recent report from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities outlines two options for implementing the background checks through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) operated by the FBI.

The first is for the agency to directly manage the process, which would require purchasing fingerprint scanning equipment, develop protocols, hiring and training extra staff to submit fingerprints directly. The second is to use a third party vendor, like Idemia, the vendor currently under contract for similar work with other state agencies.

Projected costs for the national criminal background check implementation ranges from $430k to $765k in startup costs and $2.45 million to $3.36 million in annual operating costs.

The NCIC is a digital index of criminal legal information, including nationwide data related to criminal record history, fugitives, stolen properties, and missing persons. Being part of the database and data sharing requires agencies to enter their records into the NCIC.

Growing crime in the shelters lined up with its growing population- half resident, and half migrant. In 2024, the program served over 10,000 families, which is an increase over the more than 8,000 families served over the course of 2023.

States are required to show they’re authorized by their legislature to conduct nationwide background checks through NCIC, and also receive approval from the FBI to do so. In Massachusetts, the Department of Children & Families and the Department of Early Education and Care have approval to conduct the checks for individuals applying for licenses for childcare centers and for applicants to be foster parents.

According to the report, the agency could need to provide fingerprint services to an average of 55 adults daily. From scheduling through getting results, the process could take 5 to 21 business days, delaying families’ enrollment in the shelter program.

— Massachusetts lawmaker’s bill would ban ICE agents from wearing masks by Ryan Mancini, MassLive: “A new bill filed in the Massachusetts Legislature would ban law enforcement, including agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), from wearing masks, but with some exceptions. State Rep. James Hawkins, D-2nd Bristol, introduced the bill in the wake of several ICE detainments in Massachusetts and across the country. In several instances, federal agents were masked or disguised before approaching an individual and placing them in ICE custody.”

WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET

— Massachusetts AG Campbell jumps into court fight over ICE tactics in L.A. by John L. Micek, MassLive: “Arguing that its tactics have ‘terrified immigrant and non-immigrant residents alike,’ Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell on Tuesday joined a court fight over the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, Campbell’s office announced that it had joined a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs in a case that seeks to bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from engaging in what they describe as ‘unconstitutional and unlawful stops of Los Angeles residents during immigration sweeps.’”

excerpt: 

Arguing that its tactics have “terrified immigrant and non-immigrant residents alike,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell on Tuesday joined a court fight over the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, Campbell’s office announced that it had joined a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs in a case that seeks to bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from engaging in what they describe as “unconstitutional and unlawful stops of Los Angeles residents during immigration sweeps.”

ILLEGAL ICE GESTAPO TACTICS SUCH AS THIS THREATEN EVERYONE!

ICE Agents Ram Car And Tear Gas Infant Inside CORPORATE MEDIA IS CONCEALING ICE GESTAPO ABUSE!

 

WATCH THE VIDEO! 

UNMARKED VEHICLES! ARMED PEOPLE! FIRE TEAR GAS!

NO IDENTIFICATION! NO WARRANTS! ICE GESTAPO RAMMED THE 

CAR & BLOCKED THEM IN!

THEN DISAPPEARED WHEN A CROWD GREW!

ICE GESTAPO ARE PROVOKING PEOPLE WITH THEIR TACTICS! 

DOG KILLER KRISTI NOEM IS DEFENDING THIS? 

Farron Balanced

829K subscribers

Jun 13, 2025 ✪ Members first on June 12, 2025

⚠️ Ground News: Get 40% OFF their unlimited access Vantage plan at https://ground.news/farron Agents with the Department of Homeland Security (ICE) were caught on camera ramming a vehicle at an intersection, drawing their guns and pointing them at the driver, while also launching tear gas at the vehicle. The suspect was a US citizen, and his passengers included a woman with an infant - so yes, ICE hit a car with an infant, pointing guns at the child, and tear gassed them. Homeland Security claims that the driver was wanted for allegedly punching an agent, but that doesn't mean deadly force and potential homicide are warranted. Farron Cousins explains what happened. Link - https://patch.com/california/los-ange...

FROM THE HUB

— Wu says White Stadium costs for city will ‘likely’ exceed $91 million estimate by Emma Platoff, The Boston Globe: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu acknowledged Tuesday that the cost to taxpayers for renovating White Stadium will “likely” exceed the latest official estimate of $91 million, as the cost of materials has risen. ‘The last budget estimate at the point where design was finalized was $91 million,’ Wu said Tuesday afternoon during an appearance on GBH’s ‘Boston Public Radio.’ ‘We will likely be above because different line items have gone up.’ Wu did not offer a specific figure for the updated cost, but said ‘we should know in a few weeks’ as construction projects are put out for bid.”

***MASS & CASS!***

THE CARPETBAGGING NEWTON NEBBISH OFFERED SIMPLISTIC BABBLE SOLUTIONS....THIS IS A COMPLEX ISSUE THAT MANDATES WIDE RANGING SOLUTIONS THAT CAN NOT BE LIMITED TO SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES! MUST READ ARTICLE! 

— Boston Councilor pushes for neighboring towns to help pay Mass and Cass costs by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “Boston’s neighboring cities and towns should pay into a regional fund to help with costs of the homelessness and addiction crisis around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, also known as ‘Mass and Cass,’ says City Councilor John FitzGerald. … The first-term city councilor who represents most of Dorchester and a portion of the South End said he is filing a hearing order this week to prompt the city to consider the idea of a Regional Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Fund that would require Boston and it’s municipal neighbors “to contribute to a shared fund supporting addiction recovery, housing and public health infrastructure,” according to the proposed hearing order made public Monday.”

excerpt: 

Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft, who has made addressing the issues at Mass and Cass part of his campaign platform, released a statement backing FitzGerald’s fund idea saying leadership that can address “the human tragedy and the public safety threat,” within the area, is past due.

“I support Councilor FitzGerald’s push to increase state funding and ask neighboring cities and towns to contribute as this is not just a Boston problem – it is a statewide problem,” Kraft’s statement said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who made clearing the area around Mass and Cass a priority early in her first term, said in a statement it’s a “regional challenge concentrated in Boston” and that the city will continue to advocate for state partnership and resources.

“Over the last three and half years, the City has deployed all available resources for treatment and housing pathways, and we continue to address quality of life concerns in our neighborhoods,” a Wu spokesperson said in a statement. “The State’s investment of temporary resources in previous years was critical to the real progress in ending encampments in Boston, building clear pathways to recovery and stable housing, and coordinating public safety and public health responses. More is needed, and we continue to work alongside residents and advocates to urge partnership for a regional public health recovery campus and decentralized treatment sites that will meet the scale of the challenge.”

— Southie pool reopens to public as Boston officials continue push to renovate facilities by Eve Zuckoff, WBUR: “City officials celebrated the opening of the Condon pool in South Boston on Tuesday after it had been closed for several months for repairs. However, seven of the city's public pools — about one third — remain closed. The city has been in a years-long process to rehabilitate its public pools. Last summer, a third of Boston’s city-run pools were closed for repair; the year prior, it was almost half.”

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

— School Committee's Amico running for City Council by Caroline Enos, The Salem News: “School Committee member Joseph Amico is running for an at-Large City Council seat this fall. Amico, 53, has served on the School Committee since 2015. During that time, he has been the committee’s vice chair, sits on the finance and education subcommittees and is a member of the building committee for the city’s new public safety building going up on Allens Lane.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

***FEDERAL FUNDING SLASHED!****

— Federal funding for I-90 Allston project in jeopardy by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “The massive package of tax and spending cuts President Trump signed into law on July 4 contains a provision that eliminates a federal transportation grant program that set aside $335 million last year for the nearly $2 billion I-90 Allston highway project in Boston. The provision rescinds “the unobligated balances” of the roughly $3 billion Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant program, which included funding for a project that aims to straighten and lower to ground level the Massachusetts Turnpike as it passes between Boston University and the Charles River. The Massachusetts project, complete with a new MBTA station, would pave the way for Harvard University to construct a new neighborhood on its holdings in the area and help knit together a portion of Boston that had been severed by construction of the turnpike in the 1950s and 1960s.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton joins striking trash workers on picket line via Boston 25 News.

— Warren wants to give military a 'right to repair' by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: “Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leading a rare bipartisan effort in Congress to authorize the military to repair its own weapons and machinery, arguing the “common sense” move would save taxpayers’ money and improve readiness. The Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025, filed Tuesday by Warren and Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Montana Republican, would require contractors to provide the Department of Defense with access to technical data and materials the military needs to repair and maintain its own equipment.”

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

— How a "cool block" in one Massachusetts city could provide a template for combatting extreme heat by Ben Tracy, CBS News: “Chelsea is plagued by what is known as the Urban Heat Island effect, where dense development and a lack of green space can cause some neighborhoods to bake. … Research from the nonprofit Climate Central shows peak temperatures in such urban areas can be 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than greener ones. ‘We're basically an island of hot stuff,’ Bianca Bowman, a climate justice manager with GreenRoots, a local Boston environmental group, said of Chelsea. GreenRoots is experimenting with cooling solutions on a single block in Chelsea that GreenRoots calls the ‘cool block.’”

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FROM THE 413

— Berkshire schools scramble as federal freeze threatens student programs by Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle: “Summer learning programs in Pittsfield and North Adams are still running — for now — despite a sudden freeze of billions in federal education dollars that leaves the future of these after-school and summer services in limbo. The 21st Century Community Learning Center programs in Pittsfield and North Adams — which serve hundreds of at-risk students across both cities — are subject to a $6 billion freeze in federal education funding announced Monday, affecting $106 million allocated to Massachusetts schools.”  

PAY WALL

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— Methuen OKs $4.4M to cover insurance shortfall by Teddy Tauscher, The Eagle-Tribune: “A $4.4 million shortfall in the city’s health insurance trust fund is a result of rising medical costs, including from the classification of drugs that include weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, according to Mayor D.J. Beauregard. To cover the gap, the council took the steps Monday needed to approve a $2.9 million transfer from the city’s stabilization fund and another combined $1.5 million from last fiscal year.”

— Fall River moving some students to new schools as busing costs rise by Emily Scherny, The Herald News: “Superintendent Tracy Curley has, for months, warned the district of a necessary policy change in line with state mandates that will change the way the district calculates distance between a student's home and school, impacting who is eligible to receive school transportation. At a May 27 City Council Committee on Finance meeting, Curley spoke of curtailing transportation costs despite increases in busing contracts, explaining that the objective of the school administration in re-drafting the policy is to comply with state guidelines for updated distance calculations, while continuing to transport eligible students.”

PAY WALL

— MassDEP OKs New Bedford trash-transfer station site. Some neighbors 'deeply disappointed' by Frank Mulligan  The Standard-Times: “The state Department of Environmental Protection has given a green light to a proposed solid waste processing facility site opposed by North End neighbors that will now move to the city Board of Health for approval. The facility is proposed by South Coast Renewables, formerly Parallel Products, in an expansion of its operations at 100 Duchaine Boulevard in the New Bedford Business Park. MassDEP has been reviewing the application since early 2023.”

PAY WALL

***LENGTHY ARTICLE THAT EXPLAINS ICE GESTAPO ABUSE!*****

— Detained immigrants use ‘habeas corpus’ petitions to challenge ICE by Kevin G. Andrade, The New Bedford Light.

excerpts: 

“For immigration attorneys, this is so important because it stops ICE from moving our clients all over the U.S.,” said Ondine Gálvez Sniffin, an immigration attorney with nearly 30 years of experience.

“Wherever the person is detained, it is much more difficult for them to have access to counsel,” she said. “The client’s right to have the attorney of their choice is harmed by ICE when they move them.”

That appeared to happen on May 8, when a New Bedford man, Gilberto Perez-Ramos from Guatemala, missed a scheduled hearing in Chelmsford Immigration Court. The government had already moved him out of Plymouth County Corrections without his lawyer’s knowledge.

According to area activists, he was moved to Texas. He was released on bond about two weeks ago and has since returned to New Bedford.

“It appears that the government is deliberately moving people around the country to get them away from courts that they think will enforce the law in a way that it was interpreted a year ago,” Neuman said, “to courts they think are more likely to accept new interpretations of the law, like Louisiana and Texas.”

Sniffin added the Department of Homeland Security will often claim it necessary to move detainees away from New England due to overcrowding. But she thinks DHS has another motivation.

“The true intention is to prevent the client from having legal counsel,” Sniffin says. “New England has a plethora of immigration attorneys compared to states down south.” She said she thinks moving detainees south, away from their lawyers, is appealing to an administration anxious to increase deportations. 

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Amy Sennett, Brittany Webb, Rachel Dec, Ryan Boehm, Boston Globe alum Wesley Lowery, George-Alexander Attia and MassGOP alum Madeleine Cammarano.

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