Overview
- Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 2427 on July 30, 2026, creating a statewide ‘bell-to-bell’ restriction on personal electronic devices and directing the Illinois State Board of Education to publish a model policy by Sept. 1, 2026 with district implementation required for the 2027–28 school year and full alignment for districts with prior rules by 2031–32.
- The law covers phones, tablets, personal laptops, game consoles, smartwatches and similar devices while allowing teachers to permit classroom use and requiring districts to include device access in emergency-response plans.
- SB 2427 mandates exemptions for medically necessary devices, students with IEPs or 504 plans, English learners who need translation tools, and student caregivers, and it prohibits monetary fines or suspensions for rule breaches.
- The law bars security officers and law enforcement from enforcing administrative device rules, and it leaves practical choices about enforcement, lunch-period access and discipline to local districts to shape under the state model.
- Local districts are already moving faster than the state example: Topeka Public Schools will start a strict locker-or-pouch ban in August 2026 that also bans wireless earbuds, a shift that has raised parental safety and emergency‑contact concerns that districts say they will address with new parent communication systems; broader research on device bans remains mixed, with teacher surveys reporting gains and an NBER study finding small effects on grades and attendance.