• A new bill in Wisconsin seeks to ban student cellphone use for the entire school day, including lunch and recess.
• This proposal expands on a recently signed law that already prohibits phone use during instructional time.
• Supporters of the “bell-to-bell” ban cite concerns over youth mental health and classroom distractions.

A group of Republican lawmakers is seeking to take Wisconsin’s new school cellphone ban a step further.

A bill co-authored by Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, would require school boards to adopt “bell-to-bell” policies banning students from using their cellphones throughout the entire school day.

The proposal follows a bill Gov. Tony Evers signed into law Oct. 31, which will prohibit students from using phones during instructional time starting next school year. The new bill would expand the ban to include lunch, recess and passing periods.

Policies vary by school, but 90% of school districts already bar phone use during classroom time, according to a state Department of Public Instruction survey for the 2024-25 school year. About 21% reported having a “full ban” in all schools.

Brill said prohibiting phones only during instructional time can unintentionally increase use outside the classroom. Students are no longer talking to each other during lunch and recess, she said, and some children race out of class to check their phones during passing periods.

“It’s a distraction for teachers when kids are heading back into the classroom and having to check students over to see if they have their phones on them,” she said. “This is just one way we can empower teachers to have a distraction-free classroom, for students to talk at lunch, even though it may be tough to start.”

The bill is co-authored by Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing, and Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay. Kitchens led the initial effort to ban phones during instructional time. Brill, who voted for the original bill, said the proposal has garnered interest from lawmakers across parties and will soon be introduced in the Legislature.

During hearings this fall for the Assembly Speaker’s Task Force on Protecting Kids, academic psychologist Ravi Iyer and educators in the Oostburg School District expressed support for a bell-to-bell ban, testifying on the harmful effects of cellphone and social media use on youth mental health.

“The task force found over and over again this detrimental effect of the internet and online presence in kids’ lives,” said Brill, who chairs the eight-person task force. “Children are hurting in our state and our nation.”

School districts, parents and children “are turning to us as legislators to say, ‘Help us,’” she said. “That was a resounding message we heard.”

School cellphone restrictions growing nationally

The bill comes as cellphone restrictions are gaining traction nationwide. In an October survey from the nonprofit Brookings Institution, 55% of respondents said their schools had bell-to-bell bans, and 76% of teens said they preferred some form of phone restriction during the school day. Even so, most teens in schools with bans reported the policies had no effect on their happiness, academics, attention or ability to make friends.

Other national surveys have found students are less supportive of full-day cellphone bans. About 73% of teens said they opposed such policies in a Pew Research Center survey this fall.

Brill said the bill mirrors states that have already adopted bell-to-bell laws. North Dakota and Rhode Island have among the most restrictive statewide bans, requiring phones be kept in inaccessible storage, according to an analysis by the Institute for Families and Technology, a nonprofit that promotes digital safety for children. The organization advocates for bell-to-bell bans that require phones to be stored out of reach, saying stricter rules can improve student and teacher satisfaction.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia ban phones throughout the school day but allow students to keep them in accessible storage, such as lockers or backpacks, according to the report.

Brill said she’s exploring the possibility of helping districts pay for equipment to collect and store phones, such as locked pouches.

Like the current state law, the bill would allow school boards to grant exceptions in emergencies, for educational purposes with a teacher’s permission and for students who need phones to manage health conditions or disabilities. School district-issued electronic devices would also still be allowed.