New laws that take effect this month include a ban on cell phones and LGBTQ restrictions for students and teachers in Louisiana.

No new law will have more far-reaching effects than Franklinton Republican Senator Beth Mizell’s cellphone ban, which requires that the devices be stowed away during the entire school day, including lunch, unless a student has received an exemption for health reasons, such as a diabetes monitor.

Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is expected to review and approve the final policy implementing the cell phone ban this month.

“Teachers and labor groups say cell phones are the biggest distraction in the classroom that they are fighting,” Mizell said as she promoted her Senate Bill 207, now Bill 313.

Two other new laws will prevent discussions about gender identity in Louisiana’s public schools and give teachers the right to ignore LGBTQ students’ preferred names and pronouns.

The two anti-LGBTQ school bills are a microcosm of the ongoing national debate over gender identity and one of the most important themes in the American culture war.

House Bill 122 (now House Bill 681), introduced by Republican Rep. Dodie Horton of Haughton, prohibits teachers from discussing or allowing discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in class.

“Our children are meant to be educated, not indoctrinated or confused,” Horton said in an interview with USA Today Network. “Parents have the right to raise their children in accordance with their own beliefs. This law is not directed against anyone or against any lifestyle choice. I hate this misrepresentation.”

Horton said students should not be exposed to conversations that they believe destroy their innocence.

Republican Rep. Raymond Crews of Bossier City’s House Bill 121, now Act 680, requires school employees to use the names and pronouns of students on their birth certificates who designate LGBTQ people as “deadnames” unless they have parental consent, and even then a teacher can refuse. In those cases, the student can transfer to another class if one is available.

Crews said his bill was intended to protect the rights of parents and teachers.

“It ensures the right of parents to know what is going on in their children’s lives,” he said.

But opponents of the bill said such legislation would create a hostile school environment for LGBTQ students and promote hatred and bullying.

“There is a coordinated attack on young LGBTQ people in Louisiana,” Melissa Flournoy said in an earlier debate.

Louisiana Democratic Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, who became the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in 2022, called the legislation “hateful” during his testimony.

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Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared in the Shreveport Times: Louisiana students start school with cell phone ban, LGBTQ restrictions