Maryland Senate passes school cellphone ban by 2027-28

Katharine Wilson, Baltimore Sun on Mar 20, 2026

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BALTIMORE — The Maryland Senate passed a bill unanimously Friday that would require every local board of education to implement a policy significantly restricting student use of personal cellphones, laptops, smart watches and other devices, and a ban on student social media use during the school day by the 2027-28 school year. The bill, which has been criticized by multiple boards of education, now moves to the House of Delegates.

Under the Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act, students would have to put away any personal devices for the entire school day, including class time, passing periods, lunch and recess. The bans would not apply to devices that are school-issued, needed for individualized education programs, or to address health issues. The devices would also not be banned in the event of an emergency, and administrators could permit their use for specific educational activities when school-issued devices are unavailable.

While students can’t be suspended or expelled only for violating the policy, the punishment is at the discretion of the local school board, according to the bill.

“Our young folks in school, they need to be focused on school, focused on learning, focused on being in that environment and leaving the distractions alone,” Democrat Sen. Kevin Harris, the bill’s lead sponsor, said.

Representatives from several school boards have spoken out against the bill. Anne Arundel County Public Schools, which has a policy regulating the use of student cellphones, wrote in testimony that the bill would “infringe upon local control of educational policy.” The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, which implemented a cellphone policy similar to the proposed statewide ban, also wrote testimony against the bill, noting that the legislation could limit a school system’s ability to implement more restrictive policies based on community needs.

“Local boards of education have done a really good job workshopping and reaching their equilibrium concerning cellphone policies with their communities,” said Sam Mathias, the legal and policy director for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education. “This bill creates a statewide mandate of what boards must do. Local boards of education are best positioned to determine what is appropriate for their communities, particularly on issues like this.”

In support of the bill, the Maryland State Education Association, the union representing Maryland teachers and school employees, wrote that the current system of classroom-by-classroom cellphone policies is “impractical and often ineffective.”

As of December 2024, 19 Maryland local school systems had recently updated cellphone policies, and five were working on updating their policies, according to the Department of Legislative Services. As of 2025, 26 states have “bell to bell” bans, according to Education Week, as the proposed Maryland bill would require.

The House version of the bill, which was passed by a committee Friday, will go to the chamber floor for a vote.