New TOTAL ban on cell phones would see hundreds of thousands of Americans barred from even carrying one

HUNDREDS of thousands of Americans face a total cell phone ban as a bill moved one step closer to becoming law.

If signed into law, the ban would go into effect in July.

In Indiana, lawmakers are eyeing a bell-to-bell total ban on cell phones for the upcoming school year.

The state already has implemented a ban on phones during instructional time, but the legislature has passed an even stricter measure.

The new law would not allow students to use their phones during lunch or passing periods, as was allowed previously.

Indiana state senator Jeff Raatz, who authored the bill, said it was aimed at reducing distraction in the classroom.

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School corporations and charter schools, not just public schools, will also be required to comply.

Julie French, a school board member in Warren Township, Indiana, said that school districts are still deciding how to enforce the no-phone policy.

“It depends on what policy we decide upon as to whether they cannot even bring them to school at all, or if they can leave them in book bags,” said French.

The bill stipulates that students can use school-provided or “school-sanctioned” student devices during instructional time until July 1, 2028.

After that, students will only be able to use school-provided devices.

Some Indiana schools who already implemented a total ban use pouches to lock students’ phones at the beginning of the day.

The state will not provide schools with pouches, which cost $15 to $30 a piece,

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia require schools to ban or restrict students’ cell phone use, according to an Education Week tracker.