As Legislature passes school cell phone ban, one district already expanded its ban

GRAFTON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- When a bell sounds to signify the end of a class period at Grafton High School, students line up to collect their cell phones. It's now the second year a district policy has been in effect, requiring students to put their phones in caddy holders before each class period.

By next fall, every Wisconsin school district might need to adopt a similar policy. Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Senate passed a bill that would mandate all districts implement a ban on cell phones during instructional periods by July 1.

In Grafton, such a ban took effect for the 2024-25 school year. Grafton High School Principal Scott Mantei said the measure was necessary after hearing from teachers concerned about distracted students.

"The cell phone was a distraction when it was on the student's person, and that led to students taking them out during class," Mantei said. "If there's a few minutes of dead time during class, to being able to have those phones out."

Ian Cornelius, a senior at the high school, said the ban was the talk of the school during the summer of 2024. He said students weren't sure what to expect, but he now considers the policy a success.

"Everyone was talking about it like it was the end of the world," Cornelius said. "It was genuinely scary, but it really wasn't much when we actually put it into place."

The bill would require districts to implement exceptions to their bans for emergencies or perceived threats, students' health care needs, individual education plans and if the phones are part of a teacher's specific lesson. 

The state Senate passed the bill 29-4 on Tuesday, so it now heads to Gov. Tony Evers' desk after the Assembly passed the bill 53-45 back in February.

State Sen. Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) voted against the bill this week. He told CBS 58 in an email Thursday he believes such decisions should be left entirely to local officials.

"I voted against the bill because Republicans have taken away control from local governments since 2010," Wirch said, referencing the GOP's period of total control after the election of former Gov. Scott Walker, which lasted until 2018. "Our locally elected school boards across the State of Wisconsin have established policies on the use of cell phones in school and are most knowledgeable on these matters."

Evers' press office did respond to messages left Wednesday and Thursday asking whether the governor supported the measure. The Wisconsin Association of School Boards also did not respond to messages Thursday.

Shorewood is among the districts to enact a ban similar to Grafton's, which caddies where students leave their phones during each class. Wauwatosa implemented a phone ban this year.

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has a ban on the books, although it does not call for the collection of phones throughout the day. Instead, MPS policy states students caught using their phones during instructional periods will have their devices confiscated.

The bill only bans students from using phones during instructional periods; it does not specify how districts should enforce the ban.

In Grafton, Mantei said the policy worked so well last year, they expanded it this fall. In addition to banning phones during the school's four 85-minute instructional periods, the ban is now also in effect for the 39-minute homeroom period known as 'Black Hawk Time.'

"I think we just saw the level of success that it was having in our other four blocks, our instructional blocks," Mantei said. "And why would we not want to have that same level of success with our Black Hawk time periods, so that our students' days get off to a great start."