California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom wants to restrict cell phone use in schools across the state.

On Tuesday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that Newsom will send letters to school districts across the state urging school boards to restrict cellphone use in schools. The South Carolina Board of Education is also expected to adopt similar guidelines this week.

Newsom’s efforts are similar to a larger initiative in states such as Utah, Florida and Louisiana to restrict cellphone use in schools. The goal is to minimize distractions in the classroom and address growing concerns about the impact of social media on the mental health of children and teens.

In his letter, Newsom calls on school districts to “take immediate action” and limit students’ use of cell phones in class.

“Every classroom should be a place of focus, learning and growth,” Newsom said in his letter. “By working together, educators, administrators and parents can create an environment where students are fully engaged in their education, free from the distractions of phones and the pressures of social media.”

The letter also refers to a recent warning from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who recently called on Congress to take action to protect social media platforms and the welfare of children by placing warning labels on the various platforms.

In June, Newsom issued a statement saying, “As the Surgeon General confirmed, social media is damaging the mental health of our youth.”

“Building on the legislation I signed in 2019, I look forward to working with lawmakers to limit smartphone use during the school day. When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies – not their screens,” the California governor added in his statement in June.

As he noted in his June statement, Newsom signed a law in 2019 allowing local school districts to regulate their students’ cell phone use during school hours.

Speaking to AP, Antero Garcia, a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, said some local officials wanted to immediately ban the use of cell phones in schools rather than finding a solution to incorporate the devices into the classroom.

“What surprises me is society’s inability to move forward and find solutions other than continually coming back to the discussion of ‘should we ban devices?’ as the primary solution to something that hasn’t worked,” Garcia told AP.

Newsweek has emailed the California Department of Education for comment.