Sen. Kevin Harris (D-Prince George’s, Charles and Calvert) during a bill hearing Wednesday as a member of Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
Cell phone use by students in Maryland’s public schools could be restricted from the beginning until the end of the school day, a “bell to bell” ban beginning in the 2027-28 school year, under bills moving through the General Assembly.
The Senate gave unanimous approval Friday to Senate Bill 928, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Harris (D-Prince George’s, Charles and Calvert), and the House on Monday voted 135-1 for Del. Adrian Boafo’s (D-Prince George’s) Bill 525. Del. Robin Grammer Jr. (R-Baltimore County) was the sole no vote.
In an interview Wednesday, Harris recalled that when he was in school, the principal would call the family if an emergency arose.
“I think we need to get back to that,” he said. “But the most important piece here is the instructional time and being attentive and paying attention. I think our young people actually need to really be more focused from bell to bell.”
The House Way and Means Committee has scheduled an April 1 hearing on Harris’ bill. Boafo’s bill was assigned to the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, but no hearing date has been set,
The bills would not only prohibit cell phone use during instructional periods, but also during “lunch, recess” and “passing periods and transitional periods” when students are walking from class to class. Students would have to store any electronic device, but where and how would be determined by each local school board.
School administrators would be able to approve student use of a personal electronic device “for educational purposes when a school-issued” device is unavailable. Other exceptions include when a student needs to handle “caregiving responsibilities” such as being with a sibling, or to monitor a documented health issue.
Students would also be able to use an electronic device as part of an Individualized Education Program, or an IEP.
That doesn’t sit well with Ronza Othman, president with the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. Othman, who submitted written testimony against the Senate bill, said Wednesday that approval of the bills was “shocking and it makes me heart sick.” She questions whether the measures violate a student’s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“You cannot sacrifice privacy and safety of students with disabilities in order to implement what appears to be a quick fix for classroom management challenges,” she said.
But dozens of current and former educators and parents like Sara Lippa submitted written testimony this month in support of a ban on cell phone use during the school day.
Lippa, a clinical neuropsychologist with two young children in Montgomery County elementary schools, wrote that research shows excessive screen time and social media use can increase rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption and diminished self-esteem in children and adolescents.
“When phones are accessible during school hours, peer conflict, cyberbullying, and social comparison do not pause, but expand in hallways and classrooms. This amplifies stress and disrupts the educational environment,” she wrote.
‘Took steps’ already
The bills give local school boards until Sept. 1, 2027, to craft a cell phone policy that includes appropriate disciplinary measures for students who violate the policy. The policies must be made available in multiple languages and officials wll have to engage with the school community to develop the policies.
In August, the state Board of Education approved a resolution encouraging local school leaders to implement comprehensive cell phone policies “as soon as practicable” for the 2025-26 school year. But some school systems had already taken steps in that direction.
More than a year ago, Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent Mark Bodell announced that elementary and middle school students would have to have phones off or in silent mode and out of sight throughout the school day. High school students were allowed to use phones during lunch, but would have to have them off or in silent mode and out of sight at all other times, including in hallways between classes.
“Dr. Bedell took steps last year to remove the distraction of cell phones from instruction in schools throughout our district,” Anne Arundel schools spokesperson Bob Mosier said in an email Wednesday. “We remain committed to keeping those distractions out of our classrooms so that students and teachers can focus on learning.
“If passed, this bill would further prohibit AACPS high school students from using cell phones during their lunch,” he wrote.
Carmel Martin, special secretary in the Governor’s Office for Children, in a letter earlier this month, noted a January survey from the Brookings Institution that said 90% of adults and nearly 80% of teenagers support restrictions on cell phone use in school.
“Studies also suggest that disciplinary guidelines are most effective when they are tiered and follow progressive discipline protocols, including parent/guardian communication and intervention, rather than relying solely on exclusionary discipline,” Martin wrote.
Her office asked lawmakers to “consider this information on school day device prohibitions and tiered discipline protocols as it deliberates this and other related legislation regarding personal electronic devices in schools.”
Originally published at Marylandmatters.Org