---
type: "Bill"
title: "County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)"
description: "County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 525"
citation: "Maryland HB 525 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Boafo", "Ebersole", "Griffith", "Hartman", "Hornberger", "Kaufman", "Mireku-North", "Moreno", "Patterson", "R. Long", "Schindler", "Solomon", "Taylor", "Vogel", "Wims", "Wolek", "Wu"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 15
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-01-27"
last_action: "2026-05-26"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/dcb91df0-d7f9-4379-8fda-ba9b1c6a14e2"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0525?ys=2026RS"
source_hash: "08adbbaa0bec7bfcc3e7015d0d82d8cd4ec68955c8671e7806f4e268b5b2e6a8"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-md"]
---

# Maryland HB 525 (2026) — County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Chapter - County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_596_hb0525e.pdf)
2. **Enrolled - County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0525e.pdf)
3. **First - County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0525f.pdf)
4. **Third - County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0525t.pdf)

## Votes

- On Third Reading — **135–1** (pass) · lower
- On Third Reading (Amend) — **41–0** (pass) · upper
- On Third Reading and Final Passage (Hse concurred) — **130–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Boafo — primary (person)
- Ebersole — primary (person)
- Griffith — primary (person)
- Hartman — primary (person)
- Hornberger — primary (person)
- Kaufman — primary (person)
- Mireku-North — primary (person)
- Moreno — primary (person)
- Patterson — primary (person)
- R. Long — primary (person)
- Schindler — primary (person)
- Solomon — primary (person)
- Taylor — primary (person)
- Vogel — primary (person)
- Wims — primary (person)
- Wolek — primary (person)
- Wu — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-01-27** First Reading Ways and Means `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-04** Hearing 2/18 at 1:00 p.m.
- **2026-03-21** Favorable with Amendments Report by Ways and Means `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-21** Favorable with Amendments { `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-21** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2026-03-23** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-03-23** Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment `referral-committee`
- **2026-04-08** Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-08** Favorable with Amendments { `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-08** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2026-04-09** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-04-11** House Concurs Senate Amendments
- **2026-04-11** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-04-11** Passed Enrolled
- **2026-05-26** Approved by the Governor - Chapter 596 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/dcb91df0-d7f9-4379-8fda-ba9b1c6a14e2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).