Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox and Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R-South Jordan) have teamed up alongside other state leaders to craft and propose a bill that would essentially outright ban student cell phones from public schools. The bill comes ahead of the upcoming 2026 General Session, where it will be put to the vote.

Cox first unveiled the proposal during a news conference at the Utah State Capitol, explaining that the ban would have a major positive impact on students’ ability to learn effectively and potentially improve their overall well-being.

“I am convinced more than ever that a bell-to-bell cell phone ban is the single most important thing that we can do for our students in our schools today,” Cox said.

In 2025, a cellphone ban was put in place as a result of Senate Bill 178. That bill, however, still allows students to use phones during passing times or downtimes such as when they move between class periods and when they’re at lunch. Cox and Fillmore’s new bill builds upon 178’s foundation, however, they’re seeking to take things a step further. In the bell-to-bell bill, absolutely no cellphone use would be permitted at any time during school hours.

Some schools, and school districts, have their own cell phone policies and procedures already in place. Granite School District, for instance, has its own bell-to-bell ban already in effect at Granger High School. 

“[Granger High School] requires [its] students to put their cell phones inside of a locking pouch at the start of every day,” said Luke Allen, associate director of communications for the District. “And then at the end of the day, as they exit, they can use a magnetic device to unlock those pouches.”

Allen reports the policy has had positive results, among them keeping students focused throughout the day and decreasing student fights on campus by 50%. 

“The first year of that policy at Granger High School, if you compare the student failure rate to the four years leading up to that, they had their lowest rates of those five years,” he said. “So, they had their lowest failure rates in five years, the first year they had that policy.”

Those who oppose the bell-to-bell ban have stated that children should have access to their phones in case of emergency. The bill would leave room for each school to implement their own emergency policy as they see fit. Currently, at Granger, students are allowed to request their cell phones from teachers, should an emergency situation arise. 

“Granite School District would be in support of any policy or legislation that helps students spend less time on their cell phones and more time engaged in their academics during the school day,” Allen said. “So, any minute that a student has spent engaging with social media or distracted by their cell phone during the school day, that's a minute that they're not spending engaging with their learning or their academics.”

During a press conference at which the bell-to-bell legislation was presented to the public, many questions arose regarding everything from implementation of the bill to potential funding concerns. Fillmore did not mention any specific plan for funding; he did, however, assert that each school could craft their own plan based on their available financial resources. 

Fillmore pointed to Granger, in particular, as an example. “Some schools, like Granger, have already invested in Yondr pouches. There are all kinds of workable solutions at various costs,” Fillmore said.

For context, Yondr pouches are lockable fabric sleeves, a popular choice amongst schools and venues that require the relinquishing of cellphones. Like previously suggested, they use a magnetic technology, that allows users to keep their device with them but not be able to access or use it. Phones can then be unlocked at a “locking base” thereby reducing distraction and encouraging focus. While the pouches do prevent usage, they don’t block signals which provides room for medical exemptions.

According to the CEO of Yondr, it is estimated that thousands of schools globally implement their pouches. In the United States alone, they estimate that around 2 million students use Yondr pouches as a part of their day-to-day schooling protocol. 

Supporters of the bill argue that going phone free has already yielded positive results pertaining to improved overall attendance and creating stronger, in-person, social interactions between students. According to Cox, increasing attendance is a big incentive for passing the bill.

“It turns out when you have an environment where people enjoy being together, and they’re interacting with each other, kids want to be there. And they show up,” Cox said. “We have an opportunity to fix what we got wrong last time and do it the right way this time.”

Fillmore echoed Cox’s sentiments, further asserting that Utah school districts not only supported the original 2025 ban, but even took further measures by their own volition. 

“I am not aware of a single school district, even though they have the power to do so, who have gone less than what the state law requires them to do,” Fillmore said. “But I am aware of a lot of individual schools and school districts who have stepped farther.” 

As far as how the bell-to-bell ban will be implemented, Fillmore says that decision will be left to the discretion of the schools. There won’t exist a required methodology for how devices will be contained. Schools are welcome to go the route of Yondr pouches or some comparable mechanism, or, they can simply require students to keep their phones out of sight and in their bags or backpacks for the duration of the day.

For Cox, who has campaigned, and spent much of his tenure reducing social media usage and increasing regulations on tech companies, this is “an easy call,” he said. Especially with the rise of artificial intelligence.  

“If we thought it wasn’t a fair fight with the social media companies, the fight is going to completely overwhelm us with AI chatbots and their ability to not just rewire our brains, but hijack everything that makes us human,” he said. “And we can’t allow that to happen in our schools.”

The fate of Fillmore’s bill will be decided at the 2026 General Session which was slated to begin Jan. 20.