SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois schools will soon be required to limit students’ cellphone use from the start of the school day until dismissal under legislation lawmakers sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk this year.
Senate Bill 2427 directs every public school board and charter school to adopt a “wireless communication device” policy by the start of the 2027-28 school year. At minimum, the policy must bar students from using phones, tablets, laptops, gaming devices and smart watches throughout the school day, including instructional time, lunch and passing periods, according to bill records maintained by the Illinois General Assembly. High schools have some flexibility to allow device use during lunch or between classes; elementary and middle schools do not.
The measure passed the Senate 55-2 and the House 102-3 before lawmakers adjourned their spring session June 1. Pritzker, who proposed the policy during his State of the State address, is expected to sign it.
“Every parent and educator knows the damage that unchecked screen time and social media can do to our children and how disruptive they can be in school,” Pritzker said in a statement after the bill’s passage.
The law carves out several exceptions. Students may use devices during emergencies, when a licensed physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner determines a device is medically necessary, to fulfill an individualized education program, or if needed to access learning materials as an English language learner. Schools are barred from enforcing the policy through fines, fees, suspensions, expulsions or by involving school resource officers or police.
State Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, the bill’s lead Senate sponsor, said the goal is to help students refocus on schoolwork. “Teachers and students should be able to collaborate effectively without distractions standing in the way,” Castro said, according to a news release cited by NBC Chicago. In an interview with NPR Illinois, Castro said several teachers in her district had urged her to pursue the legislation.
The policy mirrors bans already adopted locally by some Illinois districts, including Elgin School District U-46 and Hinsdale Township High School District 86, according to NBC Chicago. Illinois joins a large majority of states that have adopted some form of statewide restriction on phones in schools, according to Illinois Policy, a nonprofit research organization; Indiana is among neighboring states with a similar law.
Supporters point to research suggesting phone restrictions can help classroom focus. NBC Chicago reported the governor’s office cited Pew Research Center survey data showing roughly three in four high school teachers consider phone-related distraction a major problem. NPR Illinois cited Rutgers University research finding that students in classes permitting phone use scored worse on final exams than peers in phone-free classes.
Not everyone welcomed the change. The Chicago Teachers Union has argued the policy could cut off a way for students to reach family during emergencies, including immigration enforcement actions, and that managing devices already falls to teachers as part of daily classroom routines, Illinois Policy reported. Supporters counter that the bill’s emergency exception is intended to cover those situations.
Educators who already restrict phones say enforcement remains a work in progress. Ashley Kolovitz, director of digital learning and innovation at Lake Forest Academy, a private school not covered by the new law but with its own device policy, told NPR Illinois that students often reach for phones out of habit. “Sometimes, I have to stop and collect them at the start of class if it keeps happening,” Kolovitz said.
Under the law, the Illinois State Board of Education must publish a model wireless device policy for districts by Sept. 1, and school boards must review their policies at least every three years.
Sources:
- Illinois General Assembly, Bill Status of SB2427 – ilga.gov
- Capitol News Illinois, “Cell-phone ban, loosening foreign language requirements among education bills to pass” (June 2, 2026)
- NPR Illinois, “School cellphone ban is designed to help students focus” (July 7, 2026)
- NBC Chicago, “Illinois legislature approves school cellphone ban, governor says he’ll sign” (May 31, 2026)
- Illinois Policy, “Pritzker gets his school cell phone ban bill despite CTU opposition” (June 18, 2026)
- Featured Image Credit: Akinyemi Gbadamosi
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