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Legislative Alert: Governor Evers Signs Student Cellphone Restriction Bill
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 31, 2025
Governor Evers signed SB 2/AB 29 relating to restricting the use of cellphones during instruction time into law today. The new act requires all public school districts to adopt policies that prohibit students from using personal wireless devices during instructional time. Wisconsin ‘s bipartisan passage of this legislation makes it the 36th state to do so.
This move comes as part of a broader national trend: this school year alone, 17 states and the District of Columbia introduced new restrictions on student device use during class time.
Governor Evers acknowledged that in many cases, these are decisions best made locally. Yet he also expressed his view that the state has an obligation to ensure the welfare of students across Wisconsin: “My promise to the people of Wisconsin is to always do what’s best for our kids,” he said. He voiced concern that unchecked cellphone and social-media access can be “a major distraction from learning, a source of bullying, and a barrier to our kids’ important work of just being a kid.”
Some other key points for school leaders:
- Many Wisconsin districts already have cellphone/device policies in place; according to a survey by the Wisconsin Policy Forum and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, about 90% of districts reported having some form of restrictive device policy.
- The statewide requirement mandates that by July 1,2026, each district adopts a policy prohibiting wireless communication devices during instructional time. Exceptions must include use during emergencies, for student health care, when allowed under an IEP/504 plan, or when a teacher authorizes use for an educational purpose.
- The legislation leaves it to local school boards and district leaders to decide the “how” — how to handle enforcement, how to communicate to staff and students, and how an existing device-policy aligns with the new state requirement.
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