Four states have banned cellphone use in schools so far this month

Welcome to the Friday, May 16, Brew.

By: Briana Ryan

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

Four states have banned cellphone use in schools so far this month
Judicial Power in Focus, Part One: State Judicial Elections, by Leslie Graves, Ballotpedia Founder and CEO
Seven new ballot measures have been certified for 2025, and six new measures have been certified for 2026

Four states have banned cellphone use in schools so far this month

On May 14, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed House Bill 166, banning cellphone use in K-12 schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year. This move makes the Yellowhammer State the fourth state to ban cellphone use in schools in May alone:

On May 5, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed Senate Bill 139, which institutes a year-long ban on cellphone use in schools and requires school districts to implement policies to enforce it.
On May 6, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced a school cellphone ban policy as part of the state budget for fiscal year 2026.
On May 9, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed House Bill 340, banning cellphone use in elementary and middle schools starting in January 2026.

All those state policies prohibit unsanctioned cellphone usage throughout the school day. Each state’s policy exempts school-issued or school-used devices and has exemptions for students with medical or academic needs requiring the use of a wireless device. The Oklahoma and New York policies require a means for parents to contact students in an emergency.

Oklahoma’s bill would apply for the 2025-2026 school year and become optional for districts to enforce in the 2026-2027 and future school years. New York and Alabama’s policies are effective for the 2025-2026 school year forward, and Georgia’s policy is effective Jan. 1, 2026. New York, Alabama, and Georgia will require local school districts to create policies implementing the prohibitions.

In addition to those four states, the Missouri General Assembly passed Senate Bill 68 on May 14, requiring schools to ban cellphone use during the school day. That bill now heads to Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) for consideration.

As of May 14, 20 states have banned or limited cellphone use in K-12 classrooms. So far this year, at least 11 states have banned or limited cellphone use in schools.

Legislation banning or limiting cellphone use differs in each state, though most require local school boards to adopt and enforce policies to implement the ban or limit. The first state to enact such a ban was Florida in 2023. Virginia was the only one to ban or limit cellphone use in schools via executive order.

In a past episode of On the Ballot, Ballotpedia’s Samuel Wonacott explained that although cellphone bans are a fairly recent development in education policy, there was a similar situation concerning pagers during the 1980s: “There was a concern among parents, educators, and even lawmakers that students were bringing pagers into schools and using them to sell drugs or do other illicit activities. So you had states and municipalities and districts banning electronic communication devices. A lot of these bans were repealed in the early 2000s following some high-profile incidents like 9/11 or the Columbine High School shooting. Parents really wanted to be able to contact their kids, especially during an emergency.”

Supporters of cellphone bans in the K-12 classroom say they disrupt the learning environment. Opponents of cellphone bans say schools should teach students how to have a healthy relationship with technology rather than ban it.

Click here for a closer look at state policies on cellphone use in schools. Also, if you’re interested in learning more about education policy, sign up for Hall Pass, our weekly newsletter on the topic.

Judicial Power in Focus, Part One: State Judicial Elections

News stories about politics and policy usually focus on the issues at hand and the lawmakers at the center of the debate. But in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s (R) second term, America’s courts — both state and federal — are playing central roles, both in shaping policy and driving political narratives.

It’s more than courts taking on major issues like the limits of executive power, birthright citizenship, free speech, or abortion. We’re also seeing sharp disagreements over judicial independence and how far courts can go to check and balance the other branches of government.

These are big issues that go to the heart of our democracy, with some of them being debated as far back as the Federalist Papers. But making sense of what’s happening in and around our state and federal court systems can be tough for voters.

Let’s start with judges at the state level. According to a report from the University of Denver’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, there are roughly 30,000 state judges, compared to approximately 1,700 at the federal level.

And these state judges are busy. The University of Denver report notes that approximately 100 million cases are filed yearly in state trial courts, versus 400,000 in federal courts.

What types of cases do state judges hear? They hear everything from traffic citations and divorces to capital murder cases. Who are these judges, and how are they selected? Ballotpedia is working to fill that information gap.

How states choose judges varies considerably. In a handful of states, judges are selected just like federal judges are — governors make the appointments, which are subject to confirmation. How are the judges confirmed? In some states, this responsibility rests with the state senate, a commission on judicial appointments, or a state executive council.

In other states, governors make appointments from a list of candidates that a commission or other independent group compiles. In two states, judges are elected by the state legislature.

And then there are the 21 states in which voters elect judges. These contests, which historically garnered little interest from political parties or issue groups, have begun to resemble the high-profile contests for offices like governor or U.S. senator. That has made our effort to provide neutral information to voters about those judicial candidates, their ideological leanings, and what they say and do on the campaign trail more important than ever.

My home state of Wisconsin is a key example of how we’re covering state judges.

For 15 years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had a conservative ideological majority. That changed in 2023, when a liberal justice won, shifting the court’s ideological makeup from a 4–3 conservative majority to a 4–3 liberal majority. When a court’s ideological balance changes, it follows that the court’s opinions and rulings will reflect that change. Because state courts are presented with cases that touch on major national policy debates, it also makes sense that national groups with a stake in the outcome of those cases will focus on state judicial elections.

That helps explain why the candidates and outside groups in that 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election spent more than $56 million, a record for spending in any state judicial contest in the country.

That record stood until April 1 of this year, when there was another election for an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. The court’s ideological balance was again at stake, and this time, the candidates and outside groups spent more than $100 million on the race, more than the two major party candidates combined spent on the 2022 gubernatorial race.

Statewide court elections have become prominent battlegrounds, which means Ballotpedia has a responsibility to provide voters with the information they need to make informed choices in those elections.

Our encyclopedic coverage of the judiciary extends beyond state courthouses. Next week, I’ll look at our comprehensive coverage of the federal judiciary.

Seven new ballot measures have been certified for 2025, and six new measures have been certified for 2026

As of May 13, the number of certified statewide ballot measures for both 2025 and 2026 is trending above average compared to previous election cycles.

Fifteen measures have been certified for the 2025 ballot in Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Voters have already decided on six measures, while the other nine are scheduled for elections on Nov. 4.

Over the past two weeks, seven new measures were certified for the Nov. 4 ballot:

Forty measures have been certified for the 2026 ballot in 24 states. Over the past two weeks, six new ballot measures have been certified in three states:

Signatures were verified for two initiatives in Maine, which would appear on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot. In Nevada, signatures were verified for one initiative, which would appear on the ballot in 2026. All three initiatives are indirect, meaning the legislatures can pass them outright. Otherwise, voters will decide on these initiatives.

Signatures for a veto referendum concerning House Bill 267 were filed in Utah. The bill prohibits public unions from entering into collective bargaining agreements. On May 8, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (R) announced that 251,274 signatures had been verified. There is now a 45-day period for citizens to remove their signatures before the referendum can be certified for the 2026 ballot.

The next signature deadlines for initiatives intended for the Nov. 4, 2025, ballot are July 2 in Ohio and July 3 in Washington.

Click here for a deep dive into the measures certified for the 2026 ballot. You can also check out certifications for the 2025 ballot here.