As Maryland lawmakers review legislation aimed at curbing student cellphone use in schools, a clear agreement is emerging among them: something needs to be done.
“Simply put: we have a problem in our classrooms, and that problem is cellphone use,” Del. Nino Mangione, a Baltimore County Republican, told the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
Mangione is one of multiple lawmakers putting forth legislation to restrict the use of cellphones in public schools amid bipartisan concerns about the devices distracting students during class, impacting students’ mental health and pulling educators away from teaching.
Some Baltimore-area school boards are already creating policies to tackle the issue.
In Anne Arundel County, for example, elementary and middle school students have to keep their phones off or on silent mode and tucked out of sight throughout the school day, while high schoolers can use them at lunchtime. Harford County students can bring their phones to school, but students in elementary and middle school students must keep them stored away in a backpack or locker, while high schoolers can use their devices during lunch.
And on Thursday, the Howard County Board of Education voted to prohibit the use of cellphones during the school day at all grade levels — a change that goes into effect March 3.
Mangione’s bill would require local school boards to adopt policies prohibiting students from using their phones during the school day, save for high school students using their devices at lunch. It outlines enforcement mechanisms, including an initial warning, followed by device confiscation and disciplinary action.
Similar legislation introduced by Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo, a Montgomery County Democrat, would also require local boards to develop policies around cellphone usage and require students to store their phones in lockers, closed backpacks or school-provided storage containers.
Both bills would allow students to use their phones for reasons outlined in their individualized education programs, or IEPs, or for health purposes.
But would these policies be enough?
“We just talked about how kids don’t listen,” Del. Eric Ebersole, a Democrat who represents Baltimore County and retired high school teacher, said during discussion of Mangione’s bill. “Just having a policy may not cure the problem.”
Peter Boyko, a junior at Northwest High School in Montgomery County who testified on the Mangione and Fraser-Hidalgo bills Wednesday, said a complete cellphone ban would “not be ideal” at any level of education, asking for amendments to only restrict their use during instructional time and leave the rest up to the school districts to decide.
“School, especially high school, can often feel hectic and fast-paced, with only minutes between classes,” he said. “Therefore, lunch and passing time are opportunities for students to transition and take time off.”
However, restricting cellphone use across the board brings up a question for students and parents: what happens in case of an emergency?
Students being able to keep their phones on them could create more peace of mind in the event of an unsafe situation, said Jariane Martinez, a sophomore at Seneca Valley High School in Montgomery County who opposes the Fraser-Hidalgo bill.
“Phones being placed in lockers or a form of storage containers, as the bill text describes, would limit a student’s ability to contact their loved ones about not only the situation at hand,” she said, “but possibly the chance to say their last goodbyes, or the last ‘I love you’ — an unfortunate reality for many, but a reality that we must think of and be prepared for.”
That resonated with Howard County Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, a Democrat who chairs the Ways and Means Committee.
“If something were to happen in my child’s school, I would want them to be able to message me or get whatever alerts are happening,” she said. “I think you bring up an excellent point in us trying to figure out whatever that balance is, because you’re right: no one’s going to be able to run to their locker or wherever their phone is.”
Crossfiled bills in the House and Senate, known as the Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act, have similar provisions to the other legislation, but with a deadline — no later than the 2026-2027 school year. This would also allow students to use their phones during emergencies.
“We need to do everything in our power to ensure that during the instructional part of the day, our students are paying attention and are focused,” Sen. Ron Watson, a Prince George’s County Democrat sponsoring the measure, said during a bill hearing Wednesday.
Another effort to curb cellphone use would launch a pilot program in Carroll and Montgomery counties, which would ask local school systems to develop policies to restrict use, as well as collect data to take note of academic achievement, student engagement during class, behavior and challenges with enforcement. That data would be compiled into a report due by Sept. 1, 2026.
Sen. Justin Ready, a Republican representing Carroll and Frederick counties, is sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, a Montgomery County Democrat. Ready said while he doesn’t support mandating one type of phone-free program across the board, he hopes the two-county pilot could give data to supply to the rest of the state.
In Baltimore County, a pilot program locking up cellphones in some middle and high schools is already underway. Launched in the fall, the program seems to be showing some results, including reduced distractions, increased classroom engagement and a decrease in peer-to-peer conflicts related to cell phone and social media use at school, according to a December presentation from Baltimore County Public Schools.
Raneem Eberlein, a sophomore at the private Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, said her school has implemented a phone ban during the school day. Though it was initially difficult, almost like a withdrawal, she said at the pilot program’s bill hearing, it’s made a difference for her and her friends.
“I think we found ourselves getting closer because we were no longer relying on our cellphones in times of silence,” she said. “We tried to fill that silence, and we tried to connect, and we tried to find ways to engage, rather than falling back on our cellphones as kind of a last resort.”
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