Smartphone-free classrooms boost student learning

Hand your child a phone when you are ready for their childhood to end. We'd suggest another spin on that online proverb: Let kids bring their phones to class when you want them to stop learning.

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Last spring, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker championed a bill banning cellphones from classrooms. It didn’t pass, but he’s indicated he'll be renewing that fight, tribune News Service.

More than 30 states now require districts to restrict student phone use in some way, according to reporting by Education Week. We think Illinois should join their ranks, and are encouraged that the governor is onboard.

"Social media, I mean this is probably the biggest danger to young people in this country,” Pritzker said Nov. 12 on the “Pivot” podcast. “We have got to put some limits (on). I tried to pass a law last spring, (and) we're gonna try again.”

Good. An Illinois Senate bill that fizzled out at the end of spring session wouldn't ban phones in schools outright, but rather prohibit them in classes during “instruction time,” according to the legislation, and districts could tailor rules to best fit their community’s needs.