Ohio & Mahoning Valley - Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a new bill into law that bans cell phone usage in all Ohio public schools on Wednesday.

DeWine signed House Bill 250 into law, which will require public school districts to adopt a policy governing the use of cell phones by students during school hours at Karrer Middle School in Dublin, Ohio.

Not all schools will necessarily have the same policy, but the Ohio Department of Education must create a model policy for school districts to follow when making their own rules.

The governor says this model policy will be distributed to school districts across Ohio within the next 10 days so teachers and staff can look it over prior to the law going into effect.

"Cell phones in classrooms pose a significant challenge to learning. It undermines instruction and exposes our kids to potentially harmful content," DeWine said.

DeWine says teachers have told him teachers at districts that didn't allow phones in the cafeteria during lunch saw students socializing much more rather than looking at their phones.

DeWine says many Ohio schools have already implemented policies regulating cell phone usage throughout the school day he thinks other districts can learn from them.

"We hope and we believe that more schools will follow suit once this bill becomes law," DeWine said.

Ohio Lieutenant Governor John Husted added that the elimination of cell phone usage in school leads to improved academic performance, reduces bullying and lessens disciplinary issues.

"The evidence is very clear about how this improves school culture and performance of students and the overall student well-being," Husted said.