Likely helped
- No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
S. 404 (119th)Bill Overview
Focus on Learning Act
Education|Academic performance and assessmentsCongressional oversight
Sponsor
Cosponsors
Support
Bipartisan
Introduced
Feb 5, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does
<p><strong>Focus on Learning Act</strong></p><p>This bill requires certain federal actions to address the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools.</p><p>First, the bill directs the Office of the Surgeon General, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to study and report on the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools nationwide. Among other elements, this study must include the impact of mobile device use on student learning and academic achievement, student educational outcomes, and student mental health.</p><p>Second, the Department of Education, in consultation with HHS, must establish a pilot program to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to enable participating schools served by such LEAs to purchase secure containers and install lockers in order to create a school environment free of mobile devices.</p>
Why people may split
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Watch point
The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
<p><strong>Focus on Learning Act</strong></p><p>This bill requires certain federal actions to address the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools.</p><p>First, the bill directs the Office of the Surgeon General, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to study and report on the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools nationwide.
Among other elements, this study must include the impact of mobile device use on student learning and academic achievement, student educational outcomes, and student mental health.</p><p>Second, the Department of Education, in consultation with HHS, must establish a pilot program to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to enable participating schools served by such LEAs to purchase secure containers and install lockers in order to create a school environment free of mobile devices.</p>
Passage38/100
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
CredibilityPartial
How solid the drafting looks.
Contention62/100
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
02 · What it does
Who stands to gain, and who may push back.
Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Likely burdened
- No clear downsides surfaced yet.
03 · Why people split
Why the argument around this bill splits.
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Centrist—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Conservative—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
04 · Can it pass?
The path through Congress.
Introduced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Committee
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Floor
Still ahead
President
Still ahead
Law
Still ahead
Passage likelihood38/100
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
Why this could stall
- The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
05 · Recent votes
Recent votes on the bill.
No vote history yet
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
06 · Go deeper
Go deeper than the headline read.
Included on this page
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
Unlocked analysis
Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Focus on Learning Act.
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.
Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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