Phone‑free school momentum grows
Several recent policy moves and reports are pushing schools to limit cellphone use during the school day, including a Maine requirement to ban phones and renewed legislative debate in Illinois. (wgme.com) (wsiu.org). A national Phone‑Free Schools report card also rated Washington state poorly for relying on weak recommendations rather than firm policies. (krem.com)
Maine is moving from local phone rules to a statewide school-day ban, while Illinois and Washington are still fighting over how strict their policies should be. (maine.gov) (ilga.gov) (phonefreeschoolsreport.org) Governor Janet Mills signed Maine’s supplemental budget on April 10, 2026, and her office said it includes $350,000 for the Maine Department of Education to help schools shift to a cellphone ban. A 2025 Maine law had already required every school board to adopt a personal-device policy by August 1, 2026. (maine.gov) (legislature.maine.gov) Local reporting in Maine says the new requirement is a “bell-to-bell” policy, meaning phones are off limits for the full school day, not just during class. WGME reported that all Maine public schools must have the ban in place by August 1. (wgme.com) Illinois is on a slower track. Senate Bill 2427 would require every public school district and charter school to adopt a wireless-device policy by the 2026-2027 school year that, at minimum, bars student use during instructional time and includes secure storage guidance. (ilga.gov) The Illinois bill also lists exceptions: teacher-approved classroom use, emergencies, physician-documented health needs, Individualized Education Programs, Section 504 plans, and language-access needs for English learners. Capitol News Illinois reported the latest House version would go further for younger students, with bell-to-bell bans in elementary and middle schools while letting high schools allow phone use during lunch and breaks. (ilga.gov) (capitolnewsillinois.com) That split helps explain the national pressure campaign around these laws. The Phone-Free Schools State Report Card says 39 states and the District of Columbia have taken some policy action since 2024, and it grades states higher when bans are bell-to-bell and phones are stored out of reach. (phonefreeschoolsreport.org) On that scale, Maine is currently listed as a “D” state with a required policy but no mandated elements, Illinois is marked “incomplete bill pending,” and Washington is also listed as “incomplete bill pending.” The report card gives top marks only to states with stronger statewide rules, including four states in its “A” tier and 17 states plus the District of Columbia in its “B” tier. (phonefreeschoolsreport.org) Washington’s weak spot is that state officials have encouraged districts to act without passing a statewide mandate. KREM reported that the national report faulted Washington for relying on recommendations instead of a firm law after the 2026 legislative session ended without a statewide ban. (krem.com) (phonefreeschoolsreport.org) The politics are unusually bipartisan. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker backed a classroom phone ban in his State of the State address, and Maine folded its policy into a budget package signed by a Democratic governor after schools had already been told to write device rules. (nbcchicago.com) (maine.gov) (legislature.maine.gov) The next test is whether more states copy Maine’s bell-to-bell model or settle for class-time limits like the Illinois proposal. By August 1 in Maine, that debate turns into a deadline. (wgme.com) (ilga.gov)
