During the 2025 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly will seek to pass a law placing limits on student access to cell phones in schools.[1] There are at least five different proposed bills, each with slight variations.[2] The bills each carve out different conditions for permissible cell phone use during the school day.[3] For example, House Bill 192 allows cell phone use during lunch and creates varying limitations on cell phone use based on a student’s age. [4] Senate Bill 112 requires that a cell phone be stored in a secure place during the school day.[5]

However, each bill aims to require all local school systems to individually create their own policies restricting students’ access to their cell phone during school hours.[6] Any approved legislation would take effect during the 2026-2027 school year.[7] For efficiency, it’s possible that many of the bills will be combined into a single piece of legislation.[8]

In the process, Maryland legislators are preparing for some pushback from parents and some teachers.[9] A main concern is a parent’s ability to reach their children in the event of an emergency.[10] Teachers are also concerned that a cell phone ban would just be another rule left up to them to enforce.[11] That said, a key aspect of all the bills is flexibility and permitting Maryland’s twenty-four jurisdictions the discretion to determine what works best for them.[12]

For instance, Senate Bill 368, sponsored by Senator Watson, prohibits a student from having access to their cell phone during “instructional time,” and from accessing social media platforms during school hours.[13] The bill provides exceptions for cell phone use if the use is: (1) related to a student’s individualized education program or Section 504 Plan; (2) related to any health issues the student may have; (3) related to an emergency event; or (4) permitted by an educator for “educational purposes.”[14] Any disciplinary action for violation of the cell phone policy will be up to the discretion of the local school district.[15]

The prohibition of cell phone use in Maryland schools follows similar efforts in Virginia after Governor Youngkin issued an executive order banning cell phones in schools.[16] Further support for cell phone restrictions can be found in a 2023 Gallup survey that said 51% of children between 10 and 19 are on social media platforms for at least four hours a day.[17] This exposure leads to increased rates of poor academic performance, cyberbullying, and anxiety.[18] In 2024, Baltimore County launched a pilot program to limit use of cell phones during the school day for seventeen middle and high schools.[19] 70% of the 455 teachers and administrators surveyed noticed a decrease in student distraction with the pilot program[20].

The benefits of a statewide cell phone ban have statistical support and the backing of most school administrators.[21] But, there are still some areas of concern, primarily from teachers and parents on the implementation and effects of a ban.[22] These concerns will need be addressed during this year’s legislative session if any of the proposed bills have a chance of becoming a new law.

Alexandra Lehukey is a fourth-year evening student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and an Associate Editor for Law Forum. Currently, Alexandra works as a Legal Executive Assistant at Wm. T. Burnett & Co./STX were she supports the General Counsel. While at the University of Baltimore, Alexandra has assisted with the most recent edition of Pleading Causes of Action in Maryland and with the “Are You Smarter Than a Law Clerk?” Program at the MSBA Legal Summit. Alexandra has a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland, College Park. While in college, Alexandra interned in Annapolis during the Legislative Session and in the Attorney General’s Office.

[1] Bri Hatch, Maryland Lawmakers Zero-In on Student Cell Phone Use as Session Begins, WYPR News (Jan. 15, 2025, 3:59 PM), https://www.wypr.org/wypr-news/2025-01-15/maryland-lawmakers-zero-in-on-student-cell-phone-use-as-session-begins.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] William J. Ford, Dialing Up a Solution: Bills Would Require All School Systems in State to Have Cell Phone Policies, Md. Matters (Jan. 29, 2025 11:58 PM), https://marylandmatters.org/2025/01/29/dialing-up-a-solution-bills-would-require-all-school-systems-in-state-to-cell-phone-policies/#:~:text=Mangione’s%20House%20Bill%20192%20would,all%20during%20the%20school%20day.

[5] Hatch, supra note 1; H.D. 57, 2025 Gen. Assemb., 447th Sess. (Md. 2025).

[6] Hatch, supra note 1.

[7] Stephon Dingle, Maryland Lawmaker to Introduce Bill that Would Restrict Cellphone Use in Schools, CBS News (Jan. 8, 2025, 7:32 PM), https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/maryland-schools-cellphone-boafo-restrictions-howard-baltimore/.

[8] Hatch, supra note 1.

[9] Id.; Madison Korman, Phones Off, Focus On: How MD Schools are Cracking Down this Fall, The Daily Rec. (Oct. 3, 2024), https://thedailyrecord.com/2024/10/03/phones-off-focus-on-how-md-schools-are-cracking-down-on-cellphones-this-fall/.  

[10] Hatch, supra note 1.

[11] Korman, supra note 9.

[12] Katie Barlow, Maryland Lawmaker Proposes Statewide Ban on Cell Phones in Classrooms, Fox 5 DC (Jan. 7, 2025, 6:18 PM), https://www.fox5dc.com/news/maryland-lawmaker-proposes-statewide-ban-cell-phones-classrooms.

[13] S.B. 368, 2025 Gen. Assemb., 447th Sess. (Md. 2025).

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Barlow, supra note 12.

[17] Dingle, supra note 7.

[18] Id.

[19] Bri Hatch, Baltimore County Schools See Early Benefits of Cell Phone Restrictions, WYPR News (Dec. 18, 2024, 5:46 PM), https://www.wypr.org/wypr-news/2024-12-18/baltimore-county-schools-see-early-benefits-of-cell-phone-restrictions.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Korman, supra note 9.