They might prefer to stay right where they are.

“It was only through text messages that parents knew what was happening,” said Tinya Brown, whose daughter is a freshman at Apalachee High School, northeast of Atlanta, where a shooting killed two students and two teachers in September. She spoke against Georgia’s law at a news conference in March.Some laws call for schools to find other ways for parents to communicate with their children at schools, but most lawmakers say they support giving students access to their cellphones, at least after the immediate danger has passed, during an emergency.

In some states, students have testified in favor of regulations, but it’s also clear that many students, especially in high schools, are chafing under the rules. Kaytlin Villescas, a sophomore at Prairieville High School, in the suburbs of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is one student who took up the fight against bans, starting a petition and telling WBRZ-TV in August that Louisiana’s law requiring a school day ban is misguided. She argued that schools should instead teach responsible use.“It is our proposition that rather than banning cellphone use entirely, schools should impart guidelines on responsible use, thereby building a culture of respect and self-regulation,” Villescas wrote in an online petition.A few states have provided money for districts to buy lockable phone storage pouches or other storage solutions. New York, for example, plans to spend $13.5 million. But states have typically provided no cash. New Hampshire lawmakers stripped a proposed $1 million from their bill.

“Providing some specific money for this would kind of ease some of those implementation challenges,” Hoffman said. ”That said, most states have not.”Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; and Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; contributed to this report.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In an airy indoor pool with fish cutouts on the walls, a group of small children bobbed, floated and tentatively flutter-kicked.

It was what it looked like, a starter swimming class. But here, instructors worked one-on-one or even two to a child. Some held cards to help kids communicate with teachers by pointing instead of speaking. No one blew whistles.“When we’re doing the job, and it’s not all this other political stuff behind the scenes and everything else, we love this,” said George, adding that diving, which takes place early in the day so that the geoducks are on an airplane by evening, has allowed him to watch his kids grow up.

A customer looks at geoducks from Canada at a restaurant in Sanya in southern China’s Hainan province on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)A customer looks at geoducks from Canada at a restaurant in Sanya in southern China’s Hainan province on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Fellow diver Kyle Purser said he cherishes his underwater job, but now fears it’s being taken away.“When you’re watching your money disappear and you’ve got families to feed and not knowing when you’re going to get your next paycheck, (it’s) very stressful,” he said.