Cellphone ban for NC students moves closer to reality. What’s in the bill
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NC bill requires students to power off phones during instructional time.
- Bill includes social media literacy instruction; exempts medical, educational use.
- Schools must update phone policies to align with new state-enforced standards.
State lawmakers have reached a deal to require North Carolina public school students to turn their cellphones off in class.
Under the bill, school districts and charter schools would be required at a minimum to adopt policies prohibiting students from using, displaying, or having a wireless communication device turned on during instructional time. House Bill 959 also requires schools to teach social media literacy skills to students.
The House unanimously approved the bill on Tuesday. The Senate approved the bill Wednesday with a 45-1 vote. Sen. Ralph Hise was the lone “no” vote.
The bill now goes to Gov. Josh Stein, who has said he will sign legislation requiring phones to be off during instructional time. Stein’s student safety council has recommended that schools completely ban phone use during the school day.
Nationwide push to ban phone use in class
The legislation comes amid growing concerns about the negative impacts that phones have on learning and students’ mental health.
At least 26 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools, according to an Education Week analysis. Some other states are either incentivizing or recommending local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies.
Both the House and Senate had passed their own bills restricting phone use in schools.
The Senate amended the House’s social media literacy bill to include the Senate’s language banning phone use in class. The House initially rejected the Senate’s changes.
A committee of lawmakers worked out a compromise acceptable to both chambers. The committee dropped wording that was originally in House Bill 959 that would have banned TikTok use in schools.
Exemptions allowed for phone use in class
The bill permits phones and other wireless communications devices to be used in class in these circumstances:
▪ If authorized by a teacher for educational purposes or for use in the event of an emergency.
▪ As required by the student’s individualized education program or section 504 plan. This exemption would apply to some special-education students.
▪ As required to manage a student’s health care, in accordance with a documented medical condition.
The bill requires schools to establish the consequences for violations of the wireless communication policy. This could include confiscation of devices and disciplinary measures.
Schools adopting phone policies
School districts across the state have been adopting or modifying their phone policies in anticipation of the legislature taking action.
The bill would require Wake County to change its recently adopted phone policy. Wake said students must keep their phones silenced and put away but didn’t require them to be turned off.
But the legislature is silent on other areas. For instance, it doesn’t require schools to ban phone use during non-instructional times. Some districts allow high school students to use phones during lunch and class changes.
The bill also doesn’t go as far as Johnston County, which extended its phone ban to teachers. The district says staff can only use their phones “for emergency response purposes and when not responsible for supervising or instructing students.”
This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 6:28 PM.
