The Push for Phone-Free Schools

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In 2023, Florida passed the US’ first statewide school phone regulations. Three years later, more than 30 states limit student cell phone use in school. Illinois joined them on July 28, 2026, when Governor Pritzker signed a bell-to-bell ban into law.

This outcome wasn’t inevitable – and from a legislative standpoint, it happened lightning-fast. Almost overnight, cell phones became their own front in a larger pushback against technology’s presence in schools.

How did we get here? This month, we’re examining how the push for cell phone bans in school picked up steam, and what the evidence surrounding them says about impacts on student learning (hint: it’s more nuanced than most expect).

We’re also expanding our conversation to include parents pushing for these restrictions and a legislator that took Illinois’ ban over the finish line. You’ll hear from Illinois state senator Meg Loughran Cappel (49th District, Shorewood), a chief co-sponsor of Illinois Senate Bill 2427, and from Lauren Johnson, founder of Screen Sense Oak Park, a parent group advocating for limits on school-issued devices and in-school cell phone use.

Finally, we come full circle by acknowledging that while cell phones aren’t necessarily edtech, some of the same arguments for phone bans are now being aimed at school-issued devices. Where does one debate end and the other begin?  And how does overlap between the two complicate a clear-cut solution to addressing tech use in schools?

Meg Loughran Cappel | Senator (49th District), Illinois Senate

Lauren Johnson | Founder, Screen Sense Oak Park,