Students in all Illinois public schools will soon have to abide by rules barring them from using cellphones or other personal electronic communication devices during school hours unless they have been given specific permission to use them.

Although many districts already have similar policies in place, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will require all districts to have “bell-to-bell” device bans in place before the start of the 2027-2028 school year.

The goal, Pritzker said, is to eliminate the distractions that cellphones and other devices can create so students and teachers can focus their attention on learning.

“We want to make sure that every hour of school time can have the greatest possible positive impact,” Pritzker said at a bill signing ceremony at Elgin High School. “We’re allowing every child to fully learn, participate, ask questions, and build the skills and interpersonal relationships that they need to thrive.”

Senate Bill 2427 requires districts to adopt policies that broadly restrict the use of “wireless communication devices” during school hours. Those include cellphones, laptops, tablets, gaming devices and “wearable” devices such as smartwatches. But they do not include devices that schools or teachers issue to students for educational purposes.

The law requires districts to make exceptions for devices that are needed for medical reasons, for special education purposes or for language translation if a student is an English language learner. Districts may also make exceptions on a case-by-case basis for students who are also caregivers for family members at home.

It also permits districts to exclude a high school student’s lunch and passing periods from the definition of “school time.”

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The law also prohibits schools from using fines, fees, suspensions or expulsions to enforce the policies unless a student uses a regulated device to engage in some other type of gross disobedience or misconduct that would warrant such discipline.

“The reason we made the difference in high school is because you have a lot of students who do dual (high school and college) credit,” Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, the lead Senate sponsor of the bill, said during the ceremony. “Sometimes (they) go part of the day and then go to work. And also, you’re giving them a little bit more responsibility.”

Suzanne Johnson, superintendent of the U-46 School District in Elgin, said her district implemented a cellphone ban last year. She said it requires elementary school students to leave their devices at home while middle school students have to place them in foam pouches during the school day and high school students are not allowed to use them during instructional time.

“While we did this to help students stay more focused in the classroom, we were pleased to see all the other benefits that followed,” she said. “While at first our students were probably hesitant and maybe not so pleased, they quickly adjusted to the new learning environment, and without the distraction of cellphones, students were more engaged, built stronger connections with one another, and once again, laughter and chatter filled our hallways, our cafeterias, and our classrooms.”

The law requires school districts to review their policies at least once every three years and to consult with teachers unions, administrators, parents and community members in making revisions.

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