(The Center Square) – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law a bill banning K-12 students from using smartphones during the school day.
House Bill 4141, which failed to pass last summer, passed the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support at the start of the 2026 legislative session in January.
Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, spoke with TCS in an exclusive interview regarding his bill’s passage.
“It’s extremely gratifying to see our hard work not only appreciated but endorsed and advocated for by the governor and friends and colleagues in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle,” Tisdel said.
The bill will amend the Revised School Code to require the boards of all public and charter schools implement a wireless communications device policy. For students enrolled in elementary or middle school, the policy will have to prohibit use of a smart phone on school grounds during:
• Instructional time
• Breaks between instructional time
• Lunch
• Recess
For students enrolled in high school, the policy will have to prohibit the use of a smart phone only during instructional time.
These are the minimal requirements that schools will be directed to adopt. They are allowed to adopt more stringent requirements. There are a number of exceptions laid out in the legislation, including for medically-necessary devices, district-owned devices, and more.
“Basic” telephones – defined as phones that only have a communication function, but no access to the internet – are also exempt.
Tisdel said he hopes this helps parents realize how addictive smartphones are for their kids, while providing them and schools support.
“They’re meant to be addictive. The algorithms are intended to keep you online,” he said. “The law allows for basic phones to be used all day long. So, if you want to get a cellular phone for your children, get them a basic phone. There’s no point getting them an expensive smartphone just to have it turned off all day while they’re at school.”
While many states have adopted some sort of cell phone policy for schools, this will be one of the more strict versions. Tisdel said he’s heard lots of support from schools and teachers for the policy.
“They are happy to have the state’s support and enforcement,” he explained. “The schools want to know that the state has their backs and that they can proceed with good, solid regulation and elimination of smartphones during instruction time K-12.”
Tisdel first introduced the bill in the 2024 legislative session, but it never received enough support from Democrats to move forward. After Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, expressed her support for such legislation in her 2025 State of the State address, he decided to reintroduce it.
Last July, Tisdel brought another version of the bill to the House for a vote. At that time, he fully expected it to pass with bipartisan support, but ended up missing the mark by just three votes.
Tisdel blamed politics and a breakdown in communication for the bill’s failure, as previously reported by TCS. This time around, Democrats and Republicans alike were on board with the bill, which served as an olive branch going into what will likely be a contentious election year for Michigan politicians.
Whitmer said she was excited to sign the bill, which will be an accomplishment for her to point to at her upcoming and last State of the State address later this month.
“Teachers are competing with social media for attention in class,” she posted to social media following the bill signing. “These bills are about helping our students learn more at school and form healthier phone habits . . . We should all look up at the world more instead of down at our screens.”
