Advocates say bans are shown to improve school climate
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Legislation that would prohibit public school students from using cell phones and other wireless communication devices during class time cleared a Senate committee Tuesday and could soon be considered by the full Senate.
It’s a policy change that Gov. JB Pritzker called for in his State of the State address in February and one that has been gaining popularity in recent years throughout the United States.
According to the health policy website KFF.org, at least nine other states have adopted statewide policies limiting or banning the use of cell phones in schools. Elsewhere, even in the absence of a statewide policy, individual districts have begun acting on their own, including Peoria Public Schools, which implemented its own ban this year.
“This policy has proven effective in reducing distractions, enhancing student focus and better fostering social interaction,” Peoria Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat told the committee. “Our data indicates it has also contributed to reducing reduction in bullying and physical fighting, thus creating a safer environment for students.”
Read more: Pritzker wants Illinois to be latest state to ban cellphones in classroom
Senate Bill 2427, sponsored by Sen. Christina Castro, D-Elgin, would require all school boards to adopt policies prohibiting the use of wireless communication devices during instructional time. That would include any wireless device such as cell phones, laptops, tablets and gaming devices that can provide voice, messaging or other data communication between two or more parties.
However, it would not include school-issued devices or devices that students are required to possess or use for educational purposes.
The district policies would, at a minimum, prohibit the use of those devices during instructional time. But the policies would also have to allow exceptions that allow students to use them during emergencies or in response to an imminent threat to someone’s health or safety.
The policies must also provide exceptions if the devices are needed as part of an individual educational plan for a student with disabilities, or if they are needed for medical care.
The new policies would have to be in place in time for the 2026-27 academic year.
Castro said she’s aware that some districts have already adopted policies that are stricter than the standards set forth in the bill, while other districts have not yet adopted any type of limitation on cell phone use.
“This is a floor,” she said. “So if school districts want to get more aggressive, like saying they don't want elementary school students to have cell phones, they can. But again, this is the floor. The reason this policy is coming forward is because not everyone's been creating this policy. This sets a standard that all school districts have to follow.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Sen. Christina Castro, right, and Samir Tanna, deputy legislative director for Gov. JB Pritzker, testify before a Senate committee Tuesday on a bill that would require all school districts in Illinois to adopt policies restricting cell phone use in classrooms. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
