Pritzker wants Illinois to be latest state to ban cellphones in classroom

Are cellphones a useful tool or a distraction in the classroom? According to Gov. JB Pritzker, they’re a distraction, and he has proposed banning them during classroom instruction.

Pritzker proposed legislation during his State of the State speech in February that would call for banning cellphones during classroom learning time. However, his proposal would not ban cellphones in school entirely, meaning students may still be allowed to use their devices between classes. Private schools would not be included in the ban.

“In conversations with educators from around the state, there is one thing most commonly cited as an impediment to classroom learning: cellphones,” Pritzker said at a news conference Thursday in Champaign.

Some of Illinois’ largest school districts already have adopted their own limits on cellphones in their classrooms, including Springfield, Peoria and Champaign.

“We want our students’ phones turned off so their minds can be fully engaged in learning,” Champaign Unit 4 School District Superintendent Sheila Boozer said.

The Champaign district implemented cellphone limits beginning last fall and said the response from parents and teachers has been positive.

“Since every student is provided with a Chromebook for schoolwork, a cellphone is not really necessary for their learning,” Boozer said.

Schools would be required to come up with their own guidelines for securely storing the phones during instructional time. Pritzker’s plan would also prohibit students from being fined or punished by a law enforcement officer for violating a no-cellphone policy.

“Study after study has demonstrated the benefits of a ban in classroom use of cellphones, not just on student performance but on overall health and well-being,” Pritzker said. “Bullying goes down while grade point averages and Advanced Placement test scores goes up.”

Pritzker’s proposal would include several exemptions to such a ban, including in the event of an emergency, when a teacher allows students to use wireless devices for educational purposes or when a doctor requires a student to have or use their phone for medical reasons.

At some recent school shootings, such as in Uvalde, Texas, students made critical 911 calls. Rep. Patrick Sheehan, R-Lockport, who is a Plainfield police officer, told Capitol News Illinois its important students can access a cellphone in emergencies.

“The kids having these devices to be able to call 911 dispatch so that they can get to the police officers, it cuts down on the response time and completely saves lives,” Sheehan said.

Sheehan said it’s important students have a distraction-free environment, but he cautioned against schools enacting a policy that could lock phones away from students.

“Taking away the cellphones and putting them in some sort of lock or away from the student, as a parent I don’t like it,” Sheehan said. “And as a police officer, I definitely don’t like it.”

Eight states enacted some type of limit on cellphones in schools last year, Stateline reported last month. This year, Illinois is one of 13 states where legislation has been proposed to limit cellphones in schools.

A 2023 Pew Research poll of public school teachers found 72% of high school educators believe cellphone distractions are a “major problem” in their classroom. But 60% of high schools teachers said it is also difficult to enforce cellphone policies.

Bans on cellphones during class time are generally popular among U.S. adults. While 53% do not support banning phones in schools for the entire day, 68% support banning them during class, according to a 2024 Pew poll.

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.