In her recent “State of the State Address,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for a bill to ban students from using cell phones during class time in public schools.
But when Republicans put the bill up for a vote this week, not one Democrat voted to pass the bill, and it failed 53–45 with 12 representatives not voting.
The cellphone bill, House Bill 4141, was sponsored by Rep. Mark Tisdel, R‑Rochester Hills, was one of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stated priorities in her 2025 State of the State address. The legislation would have required middle and high schools to limit phone use during instructional hours. A June Pew Research poll showed 74% of adults support that kind of restriction.
Despite that public support, the bill failed 53–45, with 12 lawmakers not voting. All 53 yes votes came from Republicans. Not a single Democrat voted for it.
“This defeat had nothing to do with the merits of the bill,” Tisdel said. “We tried working with Democrat lawmakers, made changes to accommodate their concerns, even used language provided by the governor’s office. We had an agreement with the governor and Senate Democrats, but the House Democrats decided to play games and vote no.”
