Blog

Recent coverage from the Salt Lake Tribune and ABC4 highlights growing statewide momentum behind Senate Bill 69, which would limit student cell phone use from bell-to-bell in Utah public schools.

Educators from districts such as Granite and Alpine have publicly shared their support for reducing classroom distractions, noting that many schools are already close to implementing similar standards. In at least one case, a Granite district high school reported its lowest failure rates in five years after strengthening phone restrictions.

We are encouraged to see this thoughtful discussion taking place across Utah.

American Prep’s Early Leadership

At American Preparatory Academy, this direction is not new.

In 2023, after reviewing research on student well-being and attention—including reporting from Sapien Labs—we launched our Minimize Tech / Maximize Happiness initiative. Our leadership team studied data on digital overstimulation, attention fragmentation, and its impact on children.

We chose not to wait.

We implemented bell-to-bell, distraction-minimized environments across our campuses—reducing access to personal smart devices throughout the school day, not just during instructional periods.

This approach has helped students:

• • Maintain stronger academic focus

• • Engage more fully in class discussions

• • Build healthier in-person friendships

• • Participate meaningfully in school culture

While each school community must determine what works best for its students, our experience over the past two years has confirmed that minimizing digital distractions supports learning and connection.

Why Focus Matters for Reading and Learning

Sustained attention is foundational to literacy development, particularly in the early grades. Reading requires working memory, repetition, and mental discipline. These conditions are difficult to sustain in environments where devices constantly compete for attention.

At APA, distraction-minimized campuses operate alongside a literacy model grounded in the science of reading. Together, this alignment has supported strong outcomes for our students, even as statewide data has highlighted ongoing reading challenges.

Click here to learn more about APA’s Minimize Tech / Maximize Happiness initiative:

We are grateful for the broader statewide effort to support focused learning environments and will continue doing the work that has served our students well since 2023.