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Michigan nears school cellphone ban. What to know.

Michigan districts would be required to ban smartphone use on school grounds during instructional time under legislation approved by the state House on Wednesday. Photo credit: Bruna Prado/Associated Press.

Editor note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan��(bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free Bridge Michigan newsletter ��().” 

by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Magazine)

Michigan may soon limit students from using smartphones in traditional public and charter schools under a bill that passed the state House on Wednesday in a broad and bipartisan vote.

The approval marks a breakthrough on a drawn-out school cellphone policy debate. House lawmakers  an earlier version of the bill last year despite calls for action on both sides of the aisle.

Under the revised legislation, approved by the House in a 99-10 vote and now headed to the Senate, Michigan districts will be required to adopt policies banning cellphones during instruction time.

The proposal does not apply to private and parochial schools. And students will still be able to use “dumb phones,” medically necessary devices and district-owned devices designated for instructional use.

The legislation stems from a  that indicates constant cellphone use impacts student learning, sponsoring Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, told reporters after the vote.

The bill must still make it through the Democratic-led Senate, which is not expected to be in session this week.

But the upper chamber expects to take final votes on the legislation “soon,” according to a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, who called the revised plan a “good bipartisan step forward on an important issue.”

Tisdel said the goal is to have Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sign the bill into law before her 2026 State of the State address, which has not yet been announced but is expected by late February.

�ٳܰ����Բ���, Whitmer called on lawmakers to “pass bipartisan legislation to limit the use of phones in class.”

“Other states — red and blue — have taken action. So has most of Europe and Canada,” Whitmer said in prepared remarks. “I understand the need to be connected to your child. But we can do better.”

At the time of Whitmer speech, nine states had adopted school cell phones bans. Now,  have similar policies in place.

Under the revised plan, students may carry what Tisdel called a “basic” phone that would allow them to send texts or make calls during instructional time but not access TikTok, Snapchat or other potential distractions.

If signed into law as written, the smartphone ban would take effect this fall for the start of the 2026-27 school year.

Many schools in the state have already adopted cellphone policies on their own. The legislation seeks to create baseline regulations for all districts in the state. But it does not propose penalties for schools that choose not to follow the law, and districts could enact stricter policies if desired.

House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, criticized Democrats who voted against the prior version of the legislation but told reporters he put the revised bill up for a vote on Wednesday to start the legislative year off “on a fresh foot.”

“We see this as a growing problem in Michigan, where kids are having their cellphones in the classroom,” Hall said ahead of the vote. “They’re distracted, they’re not paying attention to their teachers and they’re not doing well in their scores in reading and math.”

As revised Wednesday, House lawmakers also voted to tie the phone ban to pending  that would  during school instructional time in cases of emergency, such as a fire or school shooting.

by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.