A bill to encourage New Mexico schools to become cellphone-free zones advanced out of the Senate Education Committee on a 7-2 vote Wednesday morning.

Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, would give the Public Education Department $10 million to encourage and reimburse school districts to adopt technology to physically limit students’ access to cell phones in school, such as pouches which secure phones with a magnetic lock.

"The average teen spending over five hours a day distracted by cellphones," Brantley told the committee. "The evidence seems clear that they have a significant impact, not just on proficiency rates in the classroom but teen mental health.â€

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