What: The Policy Project seeks community support to limit cell phone use in class and combat student hunger. As part of our 2025 Statewide Tour, we will be hosting a Service + Advocacy Night in Southern Utah. This event aims to build support for The Focused Student Project and engage community members in public policy, culture change, and hands-on service.
When: Thursday, January 23, at 7:00 PM
Where: Southern Utah University, Student Center Ballroom, 351 W University Blvd, Cedar City, Utah 84720
Who: Community members, local leaders, teachers, students, partner organizations, and families in Southern Utah
Interviews: By request, contact Jayden Davis (480) 670-0072, [email protected]
The Policy Project is working on The Focused Student Project this upcoming legislative session. Our goal is to pass two bills: one to limit phone use in the classroom and another to combat student hunger, helping students focus and thrive in the classroom—and beyond. We are traveling to six locations across Utah to garner statewide support and gather insight from community members on these bills. Southern Utah is the second stop on our tour.
Community support is more crucial than ever as The Policy Project works to pass two bills in a single legislative session for the first time.
“When community members show up to support change, change happens,” said Emily Bell McCormick, Founder and President of The Policy Project. “The Policy Project’s mission isn’t just to pass policies, but to change culture and create long-term impact that opens doors for individuals and communities for generations to come. This is only possible through community members catching the vision and taking action.”
Currently, smartphones in the classroom are the norm in Utah, and they have become a growing distraction in schools—disrupting classroom environments, decreasing academic performance, and contributing to bullying and social isolation. The bill “Devices in Public Schools,” sponsored by Senator Fillmore and Representative Welton, will reverse the existing standard by limiting smartphones, smartwatches, and emerging technologies in classrooms while allowing Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to tailor policies to meet local needs and create exceptions for students with specific health or educational considerations.
The second priority of The Focused Student Project is combating student hunger. In Utah, one in six children is hungry. Student hunger not only impairs academic performance but also contributes to mental and physical health conditions, reduced social participation, high school dropout rates, increased behavioral problems, and long-term economic disadvantages. House Bill 100, “Food Security Amendments,” sponsored by Representative Tyler Clancy and Senator Kirk Cullimore, ensures that students with the greatest need receive no-cost school meals by eliminating the reduced-price category. It also provides these students with access to food during the summer months through the S-EBT program and prevents in-school practices that contribute to shame and stigma associated with food insecurity.
This Service + Advocacy Night will begin with an overview of these two bills, followed by personal stories from students and teachers on the challenges of classroom distractions and child hunger. Attendees will participate in a postcard-writing activity to advocate directly to legislators, as well as an interactive training to develop their own personalized advocacy plans. The event will wrap up with a hands-on service project—assembling 700+ snack packs for local students in Iron and Washington counties.
“Showing up at this event could mean the difference in 260,000 kids in Utah having lunch this summer,” said Kristin Andrus, Community Champion for The Policy Project. “It could mean the difference of a 14 percent increase in test scores for kids in the lowest income brackets—because limiting cell phone use in school can do that.”
The community’s presence at this Service + Advocacy Night is crucial to show the Utah Legislature that the state is ready to make a change for our students. All are welcome to attend. RSVP here: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/