Overview:
- Michigan's new law bans cellphones during instructional time in K-12 public schools starting this fall, but each school decides how to enforce it
- Students and parents worry about emergency communication, while teachers say they haven't received clear guidance on enforcement
- National research shows phone bans reduce screen time during school but don't significantly improve test scores, attendance or cyberbullying
by Emma Lee
Michigan’s school cellphone ban, which takes effect with the new school year, is “going to be a bumpy road in the beginning,” Salem High School English teacher Kelly Giromini predicts.
The no-phone policy is likely to pose challenges for students. While some students will learn for the first time what instruction time is like without scrolling social media, others will have to adapt to not having their phones as a classroom tool.
In rising Plymouth High School senior Olivia Schneid’s case, she might be less efficient at completing class assignments. Before the ban, she’d use her computer and phone at the same time for research or learning game platforms like Kahoot. “I’ll have a bunch of tabs open on my Chromebook, and then I’ll have some open on my phone where I cross-reference different websites,” she explained.
Michigan joins at least 35 other states with school cellphone bans that require students to keep their devices away from classrooms. However, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two bipartisan bills this February to ban phones only during instructional class time in Michigan public schools serving kindergarten through 12th grade.
Before signing the bill at Waverly High School in Lansing, Whitmer told a crowd that phones are “by far the most disruptive distraction in our classrooms … designed to keep you scrolling, and teachers (are) struggling to keep the class engaged while competing against social media.”
State Rep. Matt Koleszar (D–Plymouth) is a former teacher who supports the no-phone policy. He said the ban came to fruition because “schools and parent groups had expressed concern that their students were too distracted by devices while in the classroom.” He added, “research had shown other states had positive results by banning cellphones in the classroom.”
Despite this, an April 2026 National Bureau of Economic Research report reviewed over 43,000 middle and high schools and their phone policies. The results suggest that although phone screen time lowered during the school day, many aspects that schools measure, such as test scores, attendance records or attention levels, did not differ greatly with no-phone policies in place. The policies also did not stop potential cyberbullying.
Thomas Dee, a Stanford Graduate School of Education professor and an author of the report, said in a Stanford University article that “There is clearly justifiable enthusiasm for school phone bans, but it’s important to recognize that building effective, phone-free learning environments does not appear to be a simple or quick fix.”
Enforcement and emergency concerns
Each school can decide how to enforce the new ban, which may not be simple. As of July, Giromini said “teachers have not been told exactly what’s going to happen” in terms of enforcement at Salem High School. She expects to learn more during August professional development days before school starts.
The think tank RAND surveyed youth who opposed cellphone bans in classrooms. The No. 1 concern students reported is that parents should be able to reach them when needed. Adults also cited this as the main reason for opposing cellphone bans. However, Koleszar said “parents know that they can call the school in an emergency situation.”
But that scenario concerns Schneid, who attends Salem High School, part of the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Campus, which serves about 6,000 students. She doesn’t believe there are enough secretaries to field calls in a school-wide emergency. “That’s not very logical. They won’t be able to reach everyone,” she said.
Similarly, Salem High School parent Kerri Bennett expressed concern about keeping in contact with her daughter Lilly. “I do worry I won’t be able to contact Lilly if I know there’s a lockdown…I would like to be able to know that everything’s OK, but I also understand that that could put your guys’ lives in more danger in that situation.”
Each teacher may also have different practices for how they want to handle an emergency. If phones are placed in boxes or pouches, Giromini suggested that in an evacuation, she could grab the container and bring them to students once they safely evacuated the building.
“I would hope that the school or the teachers would have a plan put in place and be smart enough to be able to take those (phones) out quickly,” Bennett said.
Phone ban guinea pigs
This past year, some schools tried to limit phone use before the law was implemented. During a trial phone ban, Schneid said some teachers made students put their phones in bins. If they didn’t, and the student was caught with their phone, their phone went to the main office as a punishment.
“They mentioned briefly one time to put our phones in the bin, and then just did not care,” she said, referring to teachers who attempted to implement the policy. She added other teachers tried to limit phone usage, but struggled to enforce it.
The ban impacts students at the middle school level as well.
Cole Shaft, 14, who recently graduated from West Middle School in Plymouth, said “if teachers saw the phones, they would take them,” but thinks “kids got pretty good at hiding them.” He noticed that many of his peers “would hide (phones) behind Chromebooks” without getting caught, although his middle school has a strict “Away For The Day” no-phone policy. During the day, phones are required to be in lockers until the very end of the school day.
Like Schneid, Shaft agreed “some teachers will be more lenient” while others “won’t care.” Ultimately, much of the responsibility for enforcing the ban will fall on teachers.
A phone-free future
Although students like Schneid can’t cross-reference websites with multiple devices going forward, there is hope the cellphone ban will lead to more engaged learning and deeper conversations between students.
Out of the students interviewed, all said the ban would allow for a more enriched social life at school. Although the ban will start this fall, Giromini advised that everyone should be on the same page about why the ban is being implemented.
“I hope that we go into next year with everyone at the table agreeing that we’re doing this because we want to give kids the best education possible,” she said.
This piece is part of the Detroit Journalism Summer Camp, run by The Detroit Writing Room in partnership with Planet Detroit.
Emma was born and raised in New York, moving to Michigan at age 12. She has a strong passion for media, whether that be serving as music director for her school’s radio station, 88.1 The Park, or creating videos to promote handmade Rainbow Loom and crochet creations she sells at craft markets. You can follow @looming_legends on Instagram. In her free time, you can find Emma playing the cello, recording vlogs or watching New York sports.
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