Gov. Stein signs bill to restrict student use of cellphones in class

CHARLOTTE — Students across North Carolina will have to keep their cellphones in backpacks this school year.

Gov. Josh Stein has signed House Bill 959 into law, which will restrict the use of cellphones by students in North Carolina classrooms during instructional time.

The new law mandates that school districts develop policies by Jan. 1, 2026, to ensure that students turn off their cellphones, tablets, and gaming devices during class. Exceptions to this rule can be made if a teacher deems the devices necessary for learning or in case of emergencies.

Stein emphasized the importance of this measure, stating, “Schools work best when students focus and pay attention. All of us adults know when that phone is in your pocket there is an impulse you want to look at it, you want to know what is going on. It takes you away from the moment of learning.”

Stein said the new law will eliminate distractions and allow students to focus on learning.

“We lived without cellphones as a world for millennia,” Stein said. “I was in school, and we didn’t have cellphones. If your parent needed you, they called the front office. The front office called the classroom and within seconds you were found.”

In addition to the cellphone restrictions, the law introduces a new requirement for schools to teach a class on social media literacy. This class will address the impact of social media on mental health, as well as how to identify cyberbullying and suspicious behavior.

The social media literacy class is set to begin in the 2026-2027 school year and will be taught once in elementary school, once in middle school, and twice in high school.

Darren Frazier and Logan Leary just graduated high school and said students were on their phones all day. they are skeptical a phone ban will work.

“They’re not going to listen to it and then they are going to ignore it,” said Frazier.

VIDEO: NC Senate passes bill requiring cellphone ban in schools