HB 525 — County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)
MD 2026RS session · introduced 2026-01-27
Requiring each county board of education to develop and implement, by the 2027-2028 school year, a policy prohibiting the use of certain electronic communication devices by a student during the academic school day; and prohibiting the policy from restricting the use of an electronic communication device for purposes of accommodations related to a disability, including for any purpose in a student's individual education program, to address a documented health issue, to access language translation tools, or to meet caregiving responsibilities.
Latest action: — In the House - Passed Enrolled
Sponsors (16)
- Adrian Boafo (D, MD-23) — sponsor · 2026-01-27
- Chao Wu (D, MD-9) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Sarah Wolek (D, MD-16) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Aaron M. Kaufman (D, MD-18) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Gabriel M. Moreno (D, MD-13) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Matthew J. Schindler (D, MD-2) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Jared Solomon (D, MD-18) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Kym Taylor (D, MD-23) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Eric Ebersole (D, MD-44) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Mike Griffith (R, MD-35) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Wayne A. Hartman (R, MD-38) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Kevin B. Hornberger (R, MD-35) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Bernice Mireku-North (D, MD-14) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Edith J. Patterson (D, MD-28) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Joe Vogel (D, MD-17) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
- Greg Wims (D, MD-39) — cosponsor · 2026-01-27
Action timeline (9)
- · house — First Reading
- · house — Hearing — Ways and Means
- · senate — First Reading (cross-filed)
- · house — Second Reading — Passed with Amendments
- · house — Third Reading — Passed
- · senate — Second Reading — Passed with Amendments
- · house — Committee Report — Favorable with Amendments
- · senate — Third Reading — Passed with Amendments
- · senate — Committee Report — Favorable with Amendments
Text versions (0)
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Bill text (extracted)
Amendments
Congressional Research Service briefs (0)
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Connected on the graph
2 typed relationships in the influence graph — 0 inbound, 2 outbound, grouped by type.
referred to committee (2)
| date | dir | entity | amount | role | source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | → | Senate education, energy, and the environment | — | md-leg | |
| — | → | House ways and means | — | md-leg |
Who matters on this bill
Who matters
Members ranked by combined influence on this bill: role (sponsor 5 / cosponsor 1), capped speech count from the Congressional Record, and recorded-vote engagement.
| # | Member | Role | Speeches | Voted | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Boafo (D, state_lower MD-23) | sponsor | 0 | — | 5 |
| 2 | Aaron M. Kaufman (D, state_lower MD-18) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 3 | Bernice Mireku-North (D, state_lower MD-14) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 4 | Chao Wu (D, state_lower MD-9) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 5 | Edith J. Patterson (D, state_lower MD-28) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 6 | Eric Ebersole (D, state_lower MD-44) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 7 | Gabriel M. Moreno (D, state_lower MD-13) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 8 | Greg Wims (D, state_lower MD-39) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 9 | Jared Solomon (D, state_lower MD-18) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 10 | Joe Vogel (D, state_lower MD-17) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 11 | Kevin B. Hornberger (R, state_lower MD-35) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 12 | Kym Taylor (D, state_lower MD-23) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 13 | Matthew J. Schindler (D, state_lower MD-2) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 14 | Mike Griffith (R, state_lower MD-35) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 15 | Sarah Wolek (D, state_lower MD-16) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
| 16 | Wayne A. Hartman (R, state_lower MD-38) | cosponsor | 0 | — | 1 |
Stance (positions taken)
Predicted vote
Aggregated from: actual roll-call votes (when present) → sponsor → cosponsor → party median (predicts YES when ≥25% of the caucus sponsored/cosponsored). Each row labels its confidence tier so you can see why a position was predicted.
0 predicted yes (0%) · 543 predicted no (100%) · 0 unknown (0%)
By party: · R: 0 yes / 277 no · D: 0 yes / 263 no · I: 0 yes / 3 no
Timeline
Every typed-graph event involving this entity, newest first. Each row is one edge in the influence graph; the inline strip under the row shows the counterpart's own context (a bill's latest action, a hearing's chamber + date, a filing's form type + filed date, a clip's source + excerpt) so the timeline reads like a Wikipedia citation rail.
- 2026-05-24 · was referred to Senate education, energy, and the environment · md-leg
- 2026-05-24 · was referred to House ways and means · md-leg