Senate Passes Legislation Banning Cell Phones in Schools

BOSTON— On July 31, 2025, the Massachusetts Senate passed legislation enacting a bell-to-bell ban on cell phones in Massachusetts public schools. By requiring school districts to prohibit student cell phone use during the school day, the bill aims to boost student focus, improve the mental health of young people, and foster healthier learning environments.

While many school districts have adopted cell phone bans, S.2561, An Act to promote student learning and mental health, requires all public school districts to adopt policies banning cell phones in schools by the beginning of the 2026-2027 academic year.

At the beginning of the 2025-2026 legislative session, Senator John F. Keenan filed S.381, An Act limiting cell phones in classrooms, one of several bills underlying S.2561, which the Senate passed by a 38-2 vote.

“I filed my bill to limit cell phones in schools because of what I was hearing from teachers, administrators, parents, child development experts, and even students. Across the board, they were concerned that the use of cell phones during school hours was having significant negative impacts on the educational and social learning of students,” said Keenan.

While some parents are concerned about contacting their children during an in-school emergency, school safety experts shared that they believe there is more risk involved when students first turn to their cell phones during an emergency, rather than following the directions of school and public safety personnel. To ensure parents and children can contact each other, the bill passed by the Senate requires that each school have a plan in place for contact with caregivers in all situations.

While debating this bill on the Senate floor, Keenan drew attention to another benefit of this bill, namely that it greatly decreases opportunities for underage online sports betting during the school day.

“In addition to reducing issues of anxiety, depression, and all the other behavioral health concerns that come with cell phones, this will also shut off the access young people have to sports betting platforms while they are at school,” said Sen. Keenan.

Keenan filed a bill this session, known as the Bettor Health Act, that would mitigate the public-health harms caused by sports betting. Senate Bill 302, An Act addressing economic, health and social harms caused by sports betting, helps to shield vulnerable populations, like young people, who are more susceptible to developing a gambling addiction. This is achieved by regulating certain types of sports-wagering advertising, requiring gambling entities to conduct affordability checks for extremely high dollar bettors, doubling the amount that each sports wagering operator must contribute annually to the Public Health Trust Fund, and by prohibiting gambling entities use of hosts who are paid based on how much they entice a person to bet, among other provisions.

Keenan shared that he has heard first-hand from high school student interns in his office and advocates from local schools that sports betting is running rampant among underage people, particularly in schools.

Having passed the Senate, the cell phone bill now goes to the House of Representatives for its consideration.