Cell Phone Bans in Schools: Is Missouri Next?
By : Courtney Vahle, Ed.D.
Published On: April 11, 2025
This week in neighboring Illinois, a bill to ban cell phones from classrooms unanimously passed in the Senate. The bill, advocated for by Illinois’ Governor J.B. Pritzker, now moves to the House. If passed, they would join the more than 40% of states who have laws or policies restricting cell phone use in schools.
In a recent survey from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 77% of public schools nationwide reported they already have a policy prohibiting students from having their cell phones during class.
A recent SLU/YouGov Poll indicated that Missouri voters support similar legislation here. In February 2025, 900 likely Missouri voters were asked “Do you favor or oppose allowing public schools to prohibit Elementary, Middle, and High School students from accessing their cell phones during regular instructional activities unless authorized by the school principal?”
The result? Majority support across all measured subgroups for all three grade bands (Elementary, Middle, and High School). Three out of four favored cell phone bans for elementary and middle school students, and 70% favored cell phone bans for high school students.
Of note, there were slightly higher levels of support from Republicans and higher income earners (more than $50k). Conversely, younger voters showed significantly lower levels of support, particularly those aged 18-29.
In Missouri, there is a trio of House and Senate Bills up for consideration (HB 306, HB 854, and SB 68) regarding cell phones in the classroom. Missouri’s Governor has taken to X to provide public support for SB 68 (Section 162.207), which would require school districts and charters to “adopt written policies governing students’ use of electronic personal communication devices.” At minimum, these policies would have to prohibit device usage during instructional activities and outline procedures for violations of the policy.
To read more about voter opinions on education issues from our most recent poll, see our policy brief here.
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This week in neighboring Illinois, a bill to ban cell phones from classrooms unanimously passed in the Senate. The bill, advocated for by Illinois’ Governor J.B. Pritzker, now moves to the House. If passed, they would join the more than 40% of states who have laws or policies restricting cell phone use in schools. Missouri has similar legislation in the works, and voters are in support.