It certainly took Illinois officials long enough to realize that having cellphones in schools is a distraction to learning. A new law banning students from smartphone usage takes effect before the next school year.

Which is three strikes against the “bell-to-bell” measure affecting grade school and middle school students signed last week by Gov. JB Pritzker. Why the year lag? Why not include high schools in the ban? Why exclude private schools?

One of the sponsors of the bill, state Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, said including high schoolers in the ban was “a point of contention” during negotiations over the measure, according to a Chicago Tribune account.

“For many advocacy groups, they would indicate that the data is clear, and that high schools should be encouraged to maintain a full bell-to-bell ban,” she added. One weak argument to exempt high schools is that some students take college credit classes or have jobs after school.

Plenty of state school districts already have taken steps to curtail cellphone usage during the learning day. With the new law, K-8 Lake County students, those in the Generation Alpha cohort (born beginning in 2010), will start the 2027-28 school year with something they’ve used virtually since they were toddlers.

Apple’s iPhone launched in 2007, kicking off the smartphone era and putting cellphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches in the hands of kids to use as they and their parents see fit. Getting a cellphone at an early age is today’s version of passing one’s first driver’s license test.

Educators and teachers have griped for years about teens spending too much time on their phones and needing to curb cellphone use in classes during school days. They finally won the argument in the Land of Lincoln, persuading lawmakers to prohibit students statewide from accessing their cellphones during the school day, including those districts that don’t have in-class policies.

Under the new law, high schoolers can use their phones in between classes, if allowed by individual district rules.

While many may praise the anti-device measure, Illinois is bringing up the rear when it comes to similar classroom bans. More than half the states, including Indiana, earlier adopted “bell-to-bell” laws. Indiana’s regulation went into effect in 2024.

Florida officials were the first to see how phones in schools can sidetrack learning and affect mental health. The Sunshine State adopted the first U.S. school cellphone ban in 2023.

Even President Donald Trump heeded educators’ complaints about cellphones in classes. The National Defense Authorization Act signed by Trump last year prohibits the use of cellphones during the school day for students attending K-12 schools on military bases and posts.

It was only a matter of time before cellphone use in schools would come under scrutiny. Illinois has laws outlawing cellphone usage and texting while behind the wheel of one’s vehicle. The fine for a first offense is a maximum of $75; $100 for a second offense; $125 for a third offense; and $150 for a fourth or subsequent offense.

As to the cellphone ban law, surprisingly, students seem to be OK with it. Maybe they see the need to focus on learning rather than TikTok videos or making Facebook friends. Main complaints seem to be over secure phone storage and emergency conditions.

“We want to make sure that every hour of school time can have the greatest possible positive impact,” Pritzker said when he signed the bill at west suburban Elgin High School, which implemented a cellphone ban last year. “We’re allowing every child to fully learn, participate, ask questions, and build the skills and interpersonal relationships that they need to thrive.”

Elgin educators pointed out that with their phone ban, they noticed students became more sociable with fellow students during lunch breaks and other times outside of classrooms, instead of focusing on their cellphones.

Which also seems to be what lawmakers had in mind when the measure passed the House and Senate. Perhaps the next target for cellphone usage should be in supermarkets where some shoppers unsuccessfully try to multitask while plying grocery aisles.

If they’re banned in cars and classes, can keeping them out of shoppers’ hands be the next step in weaning ourselves off of our personal devices?

Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. sellenews@gmail.com. X @sellenews