The 2025-2026 school year is starting across the nation, but in Missouri there was a new law passed that, to me, feels like a step back to the 1990s and early 2000s.

Senate Bill 68, also known as SB 1481, was signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe. It is a new law requiring all K-12 public schools in the state of Missouri to “regulate” cell phone use, starting with this up coming school year.

This means phones, smartwatches, tablets and similar devices must not be used or displayed during instructional time, mealtimes or while passing periods or between classes. Schools are not required to lock devices away, rather districts can make their own decision on how they regulate it.

There are a few exceptions to situations like emergencies, and students with documented needs (i.e. IEP). But in a real crisis, is my child supposed to dig their phone out of a locked cubby while hundreds of kids scramble to do the same?

The goal? To reduce distractions and cyberbullying. I agree with that. School should be for learning, and yes, cyberbullying is a problem. But is the solution eight hours of digital silence?

The problem still exists; you’ve just ignored it.

As a mother, I understand the importance of focus and discipline in the classroom. But, I also live in 2025 — a world where a cell phone isn’t just a distraction, it’s a part of life. We adapted to the use of computers in school, right?

This new Missouri law banning cell phones in schools may have good intentions, but it ignores a very real truth — communication is part of life now.

In real-world jobs, you’re allowed to have a phone nearby. Teachers have them, office workers have them and construction crews have them. And no, that doesn’t mean they’re scrolling TikTok all day, it just means they’re reachable.

As parents, we don’t give our children phones just so they can text friends during math class. We give them phones because life is unpredictable. Emergencies happen. Plans change. Sometimes, it’s as simple as letting your child know you’ll be late for pickup; and sometimes, it’s as serious as needing to hear your child’s voice in a crisis.

We tell our kids that school prepares them for the “real world.” But the real world doesn’t require you to lock away your phone for eight hours. It requires you to manage it responsibly.

Instead of banning phones entirely, why not teach that responsibility?

I took my daughter to her back-to-school hair appointment yesterday, and I could hear a conversation with another salon employee and her client. The client was a new teacher who just finished her student teaching program; the hairstylist was a mom.

Their conversation eventually turned to this new law. The salon employee told a story about needing to get ahold of her son during school hours. If I am not mistaken, it was a severe storm turned tornado warning.

The mom just needed to know her son was safe, and when she heard his voice telling her he was in a shelter, it allowed her to refocus on other family members and even get herself to where she needed to be.

She said she was so happy that her son had access to his phone, and if that situation was under this new law she would have been stressed and scared.

I think I would have felt the same way. And, if my children experience something similar, or let’s face it, something worse. And they can’t reach me for comfort, I would feel stressed and scared — and angry.

If we want to prepare children for adulthood, we can’t shelter them from technology.

We need to teach them how to live with it — because that’s the world they’re inheriting.

Jordan Troutman is the Owner and General Manager of the Cassville Democrat, president of the Ozark Press Association, a wife, a mother of two daughters and a graduate of Capella University with a Bachelor’s in General Psychology. She is pursuing a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. She may be reached at jtroutman@cassville-democrat.com.