(Salt Lake City, UT) — Governor Spencer Cox wants southern Utah students and others around the state to keep their phones put away. The state’s chief executive sent a letter to schools and districts last week encouraging educators to keep phones out of classrooms, citing social media apps as a cause for concern. Cox called the phones a distraction from learning time and believes keeping them away will improve performance and help make the jobs of teachers easier. The governor noted some schools who have banned phones during instructional time and the positive impact it has had on learning, such as the Millard and Granite school districts.