By the fall of 2027, Maryland students may no longer have their cellphones by their sides or peek at Instagram or TikTok on their smartwatches during the school day.

Under a bill passed by the Maryland House of Delegates Tuesday, public school systems across the state will have to write local procedures to keep cellphones and other personal devices out of students’ hands from the first bell to the last bell of the day.

A companion bill passed the Senate earlier this session, and each of the bills will have to pass the other chamber before going to the governor for his signature.

The legislation makes Maryland a latecomer to a bipartisan movement limiting cellphone use in schools. Some 36 states and the District of Columbia now have laws or policies on the matter, according to Education Week. The result, the Maryland General Assembly hopes, is a return to a simpler, phone-free school life safe from distractions.

Many Maryland school systems already restrict students’ cellphone use, although few have outright bans from the first bell to the last.

Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties let students stash their turned-off phones in their backpacks, while Baltimore City says students’ phones must be turned off and secured away from them during the school day. Many schools lock phones in cages or pouches.

Researchers have suggested that a decline in achievement on national standardized tests may be tied to the rise in kids’ cellphone use. And three quarters of American adults believe schools should ban middle and high school students from using phones during the school day, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in June 2025.

Yet, the statewide ban was opposed by Maryland’s public school superintendents, including Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties, which saw it as an infringement on the local control of education policy.

Baltimore City Public Schools opposed the bill because leaders said it limited their ability to impose stricter policies than the legislation required. The city adopted its own cellphone ban after a yearlong pilot in 25 schools.

Maryland’s state school board decided last year not to impose a statewide ban on cellphones because they believed each school system should be able to write its own policies, and many had already done so.

A state survey last summer showed that 18 of 24 school districts had some cellphone limitations in place, but only seven school districts had rules that applied to all grades. Ten districts did not limit phone use from the opening bell to the closing bell in high school.

The legislation includes cellphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, wireless earbuds and headphones. Students will be allowed to use cellphones during emergencies, to address a health issue, or as a language translation tool if they’re still learning English.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.