Maryland lawmakers move closer to restricting students' cellphone use in schools

Maryland lawmakers are advancing legislation that would keep cellphones and other personal devices out of students' hands in public schools.

In a nearly unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill requiring public schools to strictly limit devices during the school day, our media partner The Baltimore Banner reports.

The Maryland Phone Free Schools Act would require every local board of education to adopt policies to go into effect starting in the 2027-28 school year. It would restrict students' use of cell phones, laptops, and other devices, and also ban access to social media during school hours.

The measure would allow cellphone use for educational purposes, student health needs, and school emergencies. It would be up to each district to determine how such bans would be enforced under the bill.

A cross-filed bill passed the Senate earlier during the legislative session.

The two bills will have to be approved by the other chamber before going to Gov. Wes Moore's desk to be signed into law.

Education Week says that at least 36 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict the use of cellphones for students in schools.

"Schools are to be centers of learning and social development, where our children learn how to connect and communicate effectively with one another, cultivate lasting friendships, and acquire the necessary skills to excel in today's global economy," Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo, who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement in January. "Experience and data have shown that it is simply becoming impossible to offer such personal enrichment when students are glued to their phones all day."

Cellphone policies in Baltimore-area schools

Several school districts in Maryland have policies that restrict students' use of cellphones in schools.

Howard County Public Schools adopted the policy in 2025. The policy requires that all cellphones and other personal tech devices be out of sight and silenced during the school day. 

Smartwatches can be worn, but only used to check the time. Personal devices can be used during emergencies, and could be approved for use in a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP).

A device is confiscated until the end of the school day after the first offense. If a student is caught with a device anytime after, it will be confiscated until their parent or guardian can pick it up. 

In April 2025, the Baltimore City school board voted to implement a cellphone policy after testing measures at 25 different schools and getting feedback from community members. 

The district's cellphone policy also limits the use of tablets, laptops, wireless headphones and smart watches, dictating that devices must be turned off and put away during the school day. The measure went into effect at the start of the 2025-26 school year. 

Harford County schools updated their cellphone policy for the 2025-26 school year after a deadly shooting prompted safety concerns the year before. 

Under the policy, elementary school students are required to deactivate and store all personal devices in their backpacks. Middle school students are required to leave devices in their lockers, and high school students must deactivate phones during class time. 

The policy also applies to tablets, Bluetooth headphones and handheld gaming consoles.