A statewide ban on cellphones in Maine schools is closer to becoming law, and could go into effect before the start of the next academic year, after legislators voted to include it in the supplemental budget this week.

Gov. Janet Mills introduced the idea in her proposed supplemental budget, calling for a strict phone policy known as a bell-to-bell ban that requires students to surrender or secure their devices at the start of the school day and not access them again until after the last bell.

The language added to the budget Monday by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee — amended slightly from Mills’ original proposal — requires each district to adopt a policy “prohibiting student use of personal electronic devices for the duration of the school day, from starting bell to dismissal bell,” by Aug. 1 of this year.

The committee also attached $350,000 in funding to the initiative, half of what Mills proposed.

The budget still needs full approval of the Legislature and could be amended during that process.

Almost half of all states have a school cellphone ban in place, and several school districts in Maine have already taken it upon themselves to adopt bell-to-bell policies. Bath-based Regional School Unit 1 was among the first to do so in 2024, and other districts including Portland, Topsham-based Maine School Administrative District 75, and Livermore Falls-based MSAD 73 have followed suit.

Proponents of bell-to-bell bans, including educators and parents, say phones distract from learning, lead to behavior issues and require teachers to waste class time policing their use. Students tend to be opposed to such policies, although they often come around. Maine districts that have already banned phones say they’ve seen improved teacher morale and student socialization.

According to the language added to the budget, the new policies must restrict cellphones and other personal electronic devices with internet capabilities, like tablets and laptops. It also tasks the Maine Department of Education, in coordination with the Maine School Management Association, with creating a model policy to provide to school boards.

The language does not specify how schools must restrict student phone use. Several districts, including Portland and RSU 1, have opted to purchase a special type of magnetically locking pouch that restricts students from using their phones while allowing them to keep the device on their person. Portland, the state’s largest district, spent $110,000 to purchase the pouches for middle and high schoolers.

The appropriations committee voted 8-4 on the proposal to include half of the $700,000 originally proposed by Mills to support schools with the transition. Lawmakers then voted 11-1 to add the policy language.

The sole dissenting vote came from Rep. Jack Ducharme, R-Madison, who said he could not support a mandate on local districts.

“I’m concerned that the initiative itself of banning cellphones in schools from the state level down is an incursion into the area of home rule that our school boards should be doing,” he said.

Worries about local control have held lawmakers back from implementing similar measures before, including during the last session. The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee heavily watered down a bill that would have instituted a statewide ban, and instead simply required districts to have a policy of some kind about cellphones.

But this year, with Mills’ backing, the push appears to be going further than it has in the past.

“It’s time to get cellphones out of our classrooms,” the governor said to a chorus of applause during her State of the State address in January. “When cellphones are removed from classrooms, research shows that student performance improves, test scores improve, behavior improves, attendance improves and social dynamics improve. Makes sense.”