![\"Security](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-cell-phone-restriction15_222676814.jpg\")
Security officer Marcus Riley places students’ cellphones into a locker near the entrance of Disney II Magnet School in Chicago on March 13, 2025. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\nMany students reached for their backpacks as they spilled out of Bernhard Moos Elementary School earlier this week, pulling out smartphones and tablets as they walked away. Come fall 2027, that scene will be the norm, as the end of the school day will be the first chance most students will have to check their devices under the new Illinois cellphone ban.<\/p>\n
Prohibiting cellphones in schools from \u201cbell to bell\u201d has long been a contested topic, but now that Illinois lawmakers have restricted their use in public and charters beginning with the 2027-28 academic year, parents and students have strong opinions on just how much device usage should be allowed \u2014 and when.<\/p>\n
Illinois lawmakers voted late last month to prohibit elementary and middle school students from using a laundry list of wireless communication devices during the school day, including cellular telephones, tablet computers, laptop computers and gaming devices. Wearable devices are out, too, including smartwatches and smart glasses. High school students may use phones during lunch or breaks at their school district\u2019s discretion.<\/p>\n
Even in school districts with cellphone restrictions already in place, the new ban has been met both with irritation and validation. For families where devices are a daily struggle, the ban acts as an outside enforcer, taking the pressure off adults. For students already frustrated by rules around their device use, the school ban sets their negative feelings in stone.<\/p>\n
The ban is a way to reduce classroom distractions, especially for students who have their devices at school and can\u2019t wait to get on their phones at the end of the day, according to Barbara McWilliams, the guardian of a fourth grader at Moos in Humboldt Park.<\/p>\n
McWilliams already has guardrails in place for her fourth grader, who isn\u2019t allowed to take her phone or iPad to school. \u201cI check her every morning before we go, in the book bag, because you know how kids put (devices) in their bags,\u201d McWilliams said. \u201cI tell her, \u2018You\u2019re going to school to learn, not to play.’\u201d<\/p>\n
But for some parents, cellphone bans leave them worried about their children\u2019s safety, even though the new Illinois ban could allow students to use their devices in emergencies and for educational purposes.<\/p>\n
Parents and students should be able to contact each other without interference from the school, according to Ramona Daniels, another parent at Moos Elementary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if there\u2019s something wrong going down in school, and the school can\u2019t get everybody their phone,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cSay there was a lockdown or something, they\u2019re not going to be concerned about giving these kids their phones, and the parents are going to be worried about their kids, wondering if they\u2019re OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels\u2019 son, A\u2019den, is only 7 \u2014 a first grader at Moos \u2014 and does not take a phone to school. But when he gets older, she wants him to be able to contact her directly if needed. The potential for security threats, such as lockdowns and school shootings, makes phone freedom necessary, in Daniels\u2019 opinion.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell them to put their phones in their book bags, but allow the kids to have that freedom to bring it or not,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cAllow the parents to have that knowledge of \u2018My child has their phone at school.\u2019 Give them that right.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be up to each school to create a policy that determines what the ban looks like and in what situations it applies, the legislation says. Certain exceptions are also baked into the legislation, including when devices are necessary for the student\u2019s health, for an individualized learning plan, or when the student is a caregiver responsible for another family member.<\/p>\n
Keeping phones under wraps, whether in backpacks or a designated storage place, is already commonplace at some Chicago public schools.<\/p>\n
Security officer Marcus Riley places students’ cellphones into a locker near the entrance of Disney II Magnet School in Chicago on March 13, 2025. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Students at Roberto Clemente Community Academy in West Town begin each morning by checking their devices into \u201ccellphone lockers,\u201d according to the school\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
For Cheniyah Kidd, a rising senior at the school, the new ban doesn\u2019t change much. She\u2019s already annoyed that her phone is locked up during the day. But like some parents, she also worries about having access to her phone in case of an emergency, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if we have a family emergency? What if we need to contact someone in our family? What if a (school) emergency is going on?\u201d Kidd said. \u201cI will dislike it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The policies are more relaxed at some CPS schools. At Lane Tech College Prep High School, phone use is limited to texting or looking at screens during nonclassroom times, but how students store their phones can vary by class and often depends on the teacher, according to the student handbook.<\/p>\n
Having access to their devices throughout the school day, not just during designated break periods, is helpful in case of an emergency, according to Lane Tech rising senior Melissa Ocampo. While Ocampo doesn\u2019t find herself reaching for her phone during class, knowing a device nearby is a comfort for students and parents, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether if it\u2019s at lunch or if it\u2019s a classroom, or if it\u2019s a fire drill but it could turn into a real drill, or a lockdown drill that turns into a real lockdown drill \u2014 it\u2019s always safe for us students and the parents to know where we\u2019re at and what we\u2019re doing at all times,\u201d Ocampo said.<\/p>\n
Results in some suburban schools<\/p>\n
In suburban Chicago, wireless device policies also vary from school to school. Some schools have already taken steps to restrict phone access, including Glencoe District 35 and West Aurora School District 129.<\/p>\n
The Illinois legislation falls in line with Glencoe District 35\u2019s current \u201cAway for the Day\u201d policy, which requires all personal devices to be stored in student lockers during the school day, Superintendent Catherine Wang said in a statement to the Tribune. It\u2019s a practice they\u2019ve followed for years, Wang said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to create a space where students are free to connect and engage in a distraction-free learning environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In West Aurora School District 129, restrictions were tightened at the beginning of the school year and largely align with the statewide ban. Elementary and middle school students must keep phones off and away all day, while high schoolers can use their phones during times like study hall, passing periods and lunch, according to district staff.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DST-L-CELLPHONE-BAN-REAX-0605015_263320699.jpg\")
A bright blue acrylic cellphone locker containing 30 individual lockboxes sits in a classroom at Bremen High School in Midlothian on June 4, 2026. Every classroom in the school has a cellphone locker, where students are required to lock their phones during class. (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
The policy has brought consistency to the district, said David Sally, associate principal at West Aurora High School. Before the district changed its rules, an eight-period school day could look like eight different variations of cellphone policies depending on the teacher, he explained.<\/p>\n
But teachers still have some flexibility in exactly how they enforce their district\u2019s ban, Sally said \u2014 classrooms have caddies where phones can be placed, or students can just make sure they\u2019re turned off and put away.<\/p>\n
The first month of school with the restrictions was a hard shift for some students, rising West Aurora High School senior and football player Darius Stewart said. But now, a year in, the student body\u2019s adjusted \u2014 and reaped some benefits, according to Stewart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say I\u2019ve seen more productiveness since, like from me, my friends, people in my classes,\u201d Stewart said, adding there are social benefits as well. \u201cI have talked to, like, 100% more people than I would have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tribune reporters Olivia Olander and Jack O\u2019Connor contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many students reached for their backpacks as they spilled out of Bernhard Moos Elementary School earlier this week,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":851707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[23541,960,16742,56660,347873,26251,5386,1818,347871,68395,67063,73474,10427,347872],"class_list":["post-851706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-cellphone-ban","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-public-schools","tag-elementary-school","tag-glencoe-school-district","tag-high-school","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-illinois-legislation","tag-middle-school","tag-school-district","tag-school-safety","tag-springfield","tag-west-aurora-school-district"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116711539631865351","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}