Implementing Georgia HB 340: Tips for school administrators

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Navigating new legislation can be challenging for school districts because it requires updates to policy and procedures. Georgia House Bill 340 changes how schools must handle personal electronic devices during the school day. The new law was created in response to concerns about the impact of personal devices like cell phones on learners’ focus and wellbeing. 

This blog post will break down Georgia HB 340 and what your district needs to do to smoothly transition to a school day without student cell phones. We’ll also explore why it’s important to go beyond the law’s requirements to manage digital distractions on school devices.

What is Georgia HB 340?

In May 2025, the Georgia General Assembly signed Georgia House Bill 340 (HB 340), also known as the Distraction-Free Education Act, into law.  

This law prohibits learners in kindergarten through eighth grade from using their personal electronic devices during the school day. It requires Georgia school districts to update their policies and the way they handle personal device storage, emergency communication to families and consequences for personal device usage. 

Legislators introduced Georgia HB 340 to tackle several issues:

• Classroom distractions from cell phones and other personal devices
• Negative effects of personal device usage on children’s mental health
• Loss of learning engagement when personal devices are present
• Decrease of social development and meaningful connections with peers
• Decline of academic growth due to cell phones in the classroom

Goals of the Distraction Free Education Act

The Georgia Department of Education states, “By prohibiting the use of personal electronic devices during the school day for grades K-8, the purpose of the law is to promote a positive learning environment free from electronic distractions.” 

• Improve learner focus and academic performance: With fewer personal device distractions, learners can focus better on class activities.
• Reduce cyberbullying and social media exposure during school hours: Limiting personal device access during school hours decreases online harassment and social media usage.
• Support learner mental wellness: Prohibiting access to cell phones and other personal devices can help reduce anxiety, improve face-to-face social interactions and support healthier developmental habits.

Tips for implementing House Bill 340 in Georgia

Implementing Georgia HB 340 requires more than just an announcement to your staff members. To successfully roll out this change, you need to establish clear policies, communicate with all stakeholders and create policies for device storage and enforcement of the new law. The Georgia Department of Education has released guidance to support the implementation of the Distraction Free Education Act.

Here is what your district needs to prioritize to comply with the act.

1. Develop a new personal device policy for K-8 learners

Your district or school was required to develop your new policy by January 1, 2026. It must be fully implemented by July 1, 2026 (the start of the 2026-2027 school year). It should include:

• Types of personal devices that are prohibited (cell phones, smartwatches, tablets, earbuds or headphones)
• When the rules apply (from bell to bell, including lunch, recess, transitions between class periods and school bus travel)
• Where devices are to be stored (backpacks, locked pouches, classroom storage, etc.)
• Exemptions for learners with IEPs or medical needs that require personal device access
• Consequence for accessing personal devices
• Emergency communication procedures for parents
• Procedures for off-site activities, such as field trips and athletic events

2. Create a plan for personal device storage

Decide how learners will store their devices during the day. Examples include:

• Locked pouches that learners carry with them
• Classroom storage containers like bins or pencil pouches with labels
• Devices kept in backpacks and backpacks stored in a specific spot in the classroom
• Student lockers (if still in use at the school) or specific device lockers
• Devices simply powered off and stored in learners’ backpacks throughout the school day

3. Educate stakeholders in the district

To successfully transition your district to complying with the new policy, you need to educate all stakeholders, including learners, parents, educators and other staff members. They need to understand what Georgia HB 340 is and why it is being implemented.

For learners: Explain the new rules and the reasons behind them, such as creating a more focused learning environment and supporting their mental wellness.

For parents: Inform them about the changes and how the school is working to create a safer  and more focused learning environment for their children. Address any questions they may have about the procedure for emergency communication. Parents are now also required to contact the school directly if they need to communicate with their child. Learners can use a school phone if they need to contact their parents. 

For educators: Provide training and resources to help educators enforce the new policy and manage their classrooms to comply with the new law. They will be directly responsible for supporting the changes and modeling responsible technology use. 

For instance, since learners can’t access their cell phones at school, educators should also refrain from taking out their own cell phones in class, at lunch or in the hallways to model appropriate behavior. 

Educators will also need resources to help learners who suffer anxiety or stress from being separated from their cell phones. School counselors may need to support educators in helping learners until they are used to the routine of the new law.

4. Encourage 100% participation from staff members

If learners are going to follow the policy, all staff members need to be consistent. If a few educators allow learners to take out their personal devices in class, it makes it much more challenging for other educators and staff members to implement the new legislation. It’s important for all staff members to participate and understand how to effectively follow the new updates.

Beyond Georgia HB 340: Managing digital distractions on school devices

While Georgia HB 340 addresses personal electronic devices, digital distractions don’t end with cell phones. Learners in your district can also get distracted on their school-issued Chromebooks, laptops or tablets. This is why it’s important to adopt a powerful classroom management solution.

Ensure a focused and safe learning environment with Hāpara

While prohibiting cell phones stops some distractions in the classroom, to truly create a focused digital learning environment, your district needs the best tools for managing the classroom. Hāpara Classroom Management gives educators the visibility they need to manage digital distractions, guide learning and keep learners on track on school devices.

Visibility into learner Google Drives

Learners often chat with each other in Google Docs, and their teachers don’t realize it. That’s because they can’t see that learners are chatting with each other rather than working on their class assignment in the Google Doc. 

Hāpara is the only classroom management solution that offers a comprehensive integration with Google Workspace for Education. 

This integration gives educators direct visibility and access into learners’ Google Drive files. In ​​Hāpara Teacher Dashboard, educators can see learners’ recent Google Drive files in one spot, hover over files to preview them or click on them to open them. These features allow educators to instantly see if learners are on track or distracted and chatting with friends. 

Visibility into learners’ browsing activity

In the Hāpara Highlights browser monitoring tool for Chrome and Edge, educators can see learners’ browsing activity in real time. 

• View real-time screenshots of learner’ screens or a list of the URLs learners have open
• Close distracting tabs instantly or close and select a reason for closing the tab
• Guide student browsing by allowing only certain websites or blocking distracting websites for a period of time
• See all websites open across the class, including which learners are viewing those sites

Supporting safe navigation and digital citizenship

Implementing GB HB 340 is also an opportunity to promote digital citizenship in the classroom. Hāpara empowers educators to include teachable moments around responsible online behavior. 

When an educator sees that a learner is off-task, they can close the distracting tab but also follow up with a personalized message to the learner. In Hāpara Highlights, educators can send a direct Announcement to an individual learner, a group of learners or the class. They can also use the Hāpara Highlights Chat feature to start a digital citizenship conversation with a learner. 

Implementing Georgia House Bill 340

As your school district prepares to comply with HB 340, remember that it is about more than simply banning cell phones. The goal is to create a more focused learning environment that also supports learners’ mental wellbeing and promotes safety. With clear policies, consistent enforcement, and open communication with staff, parents, and students, your district can make this transition smooth and effective. 

Implementing the new changes is also an opportunity to rethink how digital distractions are managed overall, even on school-issued devices. With a powerful solution like Hāpara, you can ensure classrooms stay engaged and safe on school devices, creating a truly distraction-free learning environment.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Georgia HB 340?
Georgia HB 340, or the “Distraction Free Education Act,” is a law designed to prohibit K-8 learners from using personal electronic devices, including cell phones, smartwatches, tablets and headphones, during the school day. The goal is to reduce distractions, improve learner focus, support mental wellness and improve learning engagement.

How does Georgia HB 340 impact your school district?
School districts must develop policies prohibiting personal device usage during school hours, create solutions for storing personal devices, create emergency communication procedures for parents and educate stakeholders about the changes. Districts must have policies ready by January 1, 2026, and fully prohibit learners from accessing personal devices by July 1, 2026.

What tools can help schools implement Georgia HB 340?
Tools like Hāpara Classroom Management can help schools go beyond Georgia HB 340’s requirements by managing digital distractions on school devices. Hāpara helps schools monitor learner activity online and promote digital citizenship.

Why is limiting personal device usage important in schools?
Prohibiting personal devices helps reduce classroom distractions, improve academic performance, decrease cyberbullying, support mental wellness and improve face-to-face social interactions. It creates a more focused and positive learning environment for students.