Substitute Senate Bill 5346 amends existing education statutes (RCW 28A.650.010, RCW 28A.650.050, and RCW 28A.320.135) and adds new sections including legislative findings and a temporary reporting requirement. The bill revises definitions for “digital citizenship,” “instructional hours” (by cross-reference), “learning device,” and “mobile device.” It authorizes school district boards of directors to adopt policies limiting student possession and use of paging and mobile devices, and it encourages boards to review Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) recommendations when considering limits during instructional hours. The bill includes legislative intent stating every district should be able to implement a bell-to-bell cell phone policy tailored to its community by 2030. Procedurally, the bill directs OSPI to create and maintain a web-based location linking recommended practices and resources on digital citizenship, media literacy, and internet safety, and to include research on student mobile device use and teaching strategies. OSPI must submit a report to appropriate legislative committees by December 15, 2027 summarizing policies in Washington and other states, barriers to implementation, evidence-based recommendations for academic and social-emotional outcomes and digital citizenship incorporation, and student input on those recommendations. The reporting requirement expires June 30, 2028. This is a procedural and policy-authorizing change rather than a criminal or penalty change; it creates reporting duties and guidance resources and authorizes local policy action but does not create new crimes or alter penalties. Important context is missing from the provided text: the bill’s gubernatorial approval or filing date is not shown, the full content of OSPI’s required evidence-based recommendations is not included, and there are no details here about funding, enforcement, or specific implementation mechanisms for district policies.

If enacted, the office of the superintendent of public instruction will need to assemble and keep online a set of recommended practices and research about student mobile device use and digital citizenship and deliver a statewide report by December 15, 2027 summarizing how districts in Washington and other states limit personal mobile devices during instructional hours, barriers to doing so, evidence-based recommendations tied to academic and social-emotional outcomes, and student input. School boards will then have a clear, research-based resource to consult and will be explicitly allowed (but not required) to adopt rules restricting students’ possession or use of personal mobile phones and other portable communication devices during class time, with the legislature expressing an intent to enable districts to implement bell-to-bell cell phone policies by 2030. The direct effects are that OSPI will incur added staff time and research-synthesis work to build the web resources and the required report, while school districts may face new one-time and ongoing costs to develop, communicate, and possibly enforce updated device policies and to gather community and student feedback; the bill does not provide funding or enforcement details, and the required report provision expires June 30, 2028. It is also unclear from the provided text whether the bill has been signed into law or how specific recommendation content will look, so local choices and costs will depend on the final OSPI guidance and any later district decisions.