NORTHAMPTON — The School Committee voted 7-3 Wednesday evening to enact as bell-to-bell cellphone policy at Northampton Public Schools, bringing the school district into compliance with pending state legislation requiring Massachusetts middle and high schools to enact phone-free policies.

Northampton Public Schools (NPS) previously implemented an “off-and-away” policy last year, in which students must have their cellphones off during class but may use them around school when not in the classroom.

School Committee member Robbie Saner Sullivan argued for a bell-to-bell ban in which cellphones will be inaccessible to students throughout the day, explaining that phone presence in schools can rob students of their focus and enable behavioral addiction. She said that the “off-and-away” policy still makes teachers responsible for enforcing cellphone policies and allows the negative consequences of cellphone use to continue in bathrooms and hallways.

Saner Sullivan cited an April NPS Survey in which 57% of parents and 65% of staff reported that they strongly supported a bell-to-bell ban.

“The attention and energy it takes to not check a device is exhausting. Cellphone behavioral addiction is real and all addictions, both substance and behavioral, involve dopamine, the brain’s chemical messenger responsible for reward seeking and motivation,” Saner Sullivan said. “Why would we ask our students to figure this out while they’re still at school? … When every student is off their phone, no one is singled out and the school becomes a genuine sanctuary.”

Arguing to continue the district’s off-and-away policy, School Committee member Anat Weisenfreund said she did not believe cellphone use was the primary culprit of student behavioral problems. She added that the district lacked funding for the staff or equipment needed to implement a bell-to-bell ban.

Member Valerie Reiss echoed Saner Sullivan’s support for a more stringent cellphone policy, explaining that she believed the use of phone lock-up magnets in which students are responsible for locking away their own phones each day would be an inexpensive and effective method to enforce a bell-to-bell policy.

Another member, Michael Stein, said that while he believes that a culture in which students understand that cellphone use in school is unacceptable could very well be effective, he does not necessarily see a bell-to-bell ban as a “silver bullet” for the student behavioral problems the district faces.

“We face many challenges in our culture at [Northampton High School] and I believe this is exacerbated by a lack of resources — overcrowded classrooms and inconsistent policy enforcement need to change regardless of what kind of cellphone policy we adopt,” he said. “Off-and-away involves the development of a culture. We can’t hold students accountable right now for fights, online bullying, keeping bathrooms open … a cellphone policy wouldn’t address these types of behaviors.”

On Beacon Hill, the House of Representatives advanced a bill (S 2581, as amended) in April to ban the use of cellphones and other devices in public schools and restrict social media use for children. It passed on a 129-25 vote and includes language aimed at addressing addictive feeds and protecting vulnerable age groups. The Senate had also passed its own bill, and the two bills need to be reconciled before heading to Gov. Maura Healey.

At Wednesday’s School Committee meeting, after a period of debate, member Amy Martyn brought forth a motion to enact a cellphone policy in which phones and similar electronic devices will be inaccessible to students throughout the day, with the exceptions of students who are exempted for reasons such as health issues or an individualized education plan (IEP).

School Committee members Renika Montgomery-Tamakloe, Stein and Weisenfreund voted against the policy, which is slated to take effect on Aug. 26, after the superintendent works with school administrators to draft a policy.