Governor Pritzker pushes proposal for Illinois to ban cellphones in classrooms

STREAMWOOD, Ill. (WLS) -- More details were shared Thursday on a plan to ban cellphones in classrooms statewide in Illinois.

Pritzker proposed legislation during his State of the State speech in February that would call for banning cellphones during classroom learning time. However, his proposal would not ban cellphones in school entirely, meaning students may still be allowed to use their devices between classes. Private schools would not be included in the ban.

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Governor JB Pritzker spoke about the proposal Thursday. ABC7 visited one suburban school district that is already implementing a similar no-phones rule of its own.

Pritzker and lawmakers are working on statewide rules regarding cellphones in schools, but there are a number of schools in the Chicago area, including in Streamwood, that have already established their own rules banning cellphones in classrooms.

Algebra 1 can be a challenging class for freshman and sophomores at Streamwood High School, and principal Paige Moran said the last thing they need is a cellphone distracting them. That's why they have a procedure in place at the high school banning cellphones in academic settings.

"I have students telling me it's easier for them to learn," Moran said. "I have students telling me they pay more attention in class. In the lunchroom, students are actually talking to each other."

Pritzker said that's one of the goals of legislation to limit cellphone use in schools statewide. He spoke about it Thursday morning from a high school in downstate Champaign.

"Bullying goes down, while GPA's and advanced placement test scores go up," Pritzker said. "Attendance at after-school events even increases."

There are at least two bills currently before the state lawmakers that would limit cellphones in Illinois public schools. Observers say the Governor's support will help push them along, but they are still working on details.

"It's not like they're saying you can't bring your cellphone to school at all," Chalkbeat reporter Samantha Smylie said. "The bills have exceptions for them."

Those exceptions involve emergencies and some students who need phones because of medical issues. At some recent school shootings, such as in Uvalde, Texas, students made critical 911 calls.

At Streamwood High School, students can have their phones in their backpacks, but not out in the open during class, and it's working.

"Students, although they might have been resistant at first, they are appreciative," Moran said.

At Streamwood High School, they said they're trying to prepare students for the real world after school. Part of that experience involves learning when it's appropriate to use cellphones.

Eight states enacted some type of limit on cellphones in schools last year, Stateline reported last month. This year, Illinois is one of 13 states where legislation has been proposed to limit cellphones in schools.

A 2023 Pew Research poll of public school teachers found 72% of high school educators believe cellphone distractions are a "major problem" in their classroom. But 60% of high schools teachers said it is also difficult to enforce cellphone policies.

Bans on cellphones during class time are generally popular among U.S. adults. While 53% do not support banning phones in schools for the entire day, 68% support banning them during class, according to a 2024 Pew poll.

Capitol News Illinois reporter Ben Szalinski contributed to this report.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.