Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed a law that bans smartphones during instructional time in Michigan public school classrooms beginning this fall, a change she said is intended to reduce distractions and improve learning conditions. The bill signing took place at Waverly High School, where Whitmer spoke to reporters, students and educators ahead of the ceremony.
Whitmer said, “We know that phones impede a student’s ability to learn,” adding that smartphones are “by far the most disruptive distraction in our classrooms … designed to keep you scrolling, and teachers struggling to keep the class engaged while competing against social media.” The governor signed the legislation as Michigan lawmakers sought to set statewide boundaries for device use rather than leaving cellphone rules solely to individual districts.
Under the new law, students may still bring phones to school, but smartphones would not be allowed during instructional time. The legislation directs school districts to limit smartphone use during classroom instruction and does not outline penalties for districts that do not fully comply. It also applies to public schools, not private or parochial schools.
The law requires school districts to post their cellphone policy online and describe how the policy will be enforced. Students would still be able to access their smartphones between classes or at lunch, and during instructional time schools may allow students to carry “dumb phones,” which the bill description said can send texts or make calls but cannot access apps such as TikTok and Snapchat.
The measure also includes specific carveouts. It does not restrict the use of medically necessary devices that function through smartphones, such as a glucose monitor, and it allows district-owned devices that are designated for instructional use. A companion law signed the same day, sponsored by state Sen. Dayna Polehanki, would require schools to create a protocol for when and how students can use a smartphone during emergencies such as a bomb threat or an active shooter situation.
Polehanki said, “Now, we have the weight of state law behind what I think everyone can agree upon: That cellphones don’t belong in the classroom during instruction.” The smartphone ban will take effect for the start of the 2026-27 school year.
The ban’s signing followed a push Whitmer made earlier in her 2025 State of the State address, when she called for smartphones to be kept out of classrooms. By that point, nine states had already adopted some form of cellphone ban in schools, and more states have adopted policies since then, with many of the measures already in place described as stricter than Michigan’s approach.
Michigan, too, already has districts with their own cellphone rules. At Waverly High School, math teacher Carcia Young said she has noticed a “powerful” change in student behavior, including better attention spans, and she said that when students are “fully present,” they participate more, retain more and achieve more. Republican state Rep. Mark Tisdel, who sponsored the legislation, said he was “anxious to see the results,” and he told reporters after the signing that if there are “calls from the grassroots — from the superintendents, the principals, the school teachers” about how the law “could be improved or strengthened,” lawmakers could consider changes.