{"id":39683,"date":"2026-06-02T15:23:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=39683"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:23:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:23:31","slug":"cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most public school students in Illinois will no longer be allowed to use their cell phones in school next year under legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker says he intends to sign. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lawmakers expand in-state tuition, amend child care licensing<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By PETER HANCOCK <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"mailto:phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Article Summary\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several educations measures were among the hundreds of bills that cleared the General Assembly before it adjourned on June 1.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schools will have to adopt policies next year banning cell phones in the classroom under a bill Gov. JB Pritzker says he will sign.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another measure allows students to fulfill foreign language requirements by taking career and technical education courses.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lawmakers also expanded in-state tuition and amended child care licensing laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gov. JB Pritzker says he intends to sign legislation imposing a statewide ban on cell phones and other wireless communication devices during instructional time in public schools and charter schools.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although many districts in Illinois have already adopted more stringent bans of their own, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus\/FullText?LegDocId=210621&amp;DocName=10400SB2427sam001&amp;DocNum=2427&amp;DocTypeID=SB&amp;LegID=162470&amp;GAID=18&amp;SessionID=114&amp;SpecSess=&amp;Session=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 2427<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would require all school boards to adopt policies that at least meet a minimum standard, beginning in the upcoming 2026-2027 school year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That includes prohibiting students from using wireless devices during the regular school day, including instructional time, recess, lunch and time passing between classes. But it does not include before- and after-school activities or off-campus learning activities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill provides a variety of exceptions to the ban such as when their use is needed for the student\u2019s health management, for special education purposes or because the student is also a caregiver for a family member.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wireless communication devices are defined as any portable wireless device that can provide voice, messaging or other data communication between two or more parties. That includes cell phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, gaming devices and wearable devices such as smart watches.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEvery parent and educator knows the damage that unchecked screen time and social media can do to our children and how disruptive they can be in school,\u201d Pritzker said in a statement. \u201cThe bipartisan support for this effort reflects the urgency educators and families across Illinois feel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill prohibits schools from using fines, fees or law enforcement officers to enforce the ban.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill passed the House in April, 102-3. The Senate concurred in the House version of the bill Sunday, 55-2.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Foreign language requirement<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students entering high school in 2028 will not necessarily have to complete two years of foreign language as a condition of graduating, under another bill headed to Pritzker\u2019s desk. Instead, they\u2019ll have the option of taking a foreign language or an approved career and technical education course.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus\/VoteHistory?GA=104&amp;DocNum=3070&amp;DocTypeID=SB&amp;GAId=18&amp;SessionId=114&amp;LegID=165636\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 3070<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was one of at least two bills lawmakers considered in the final days of the legislative session that would amend the foreign language requirement that lawmakers approved in 2021. It is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.isbe.net\/Documents\/grad_require.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scheduled to take effect<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for students entering ninth grade in the 2028-2029 school year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another proposal, a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus\/FullText?LegDocId=211250&amp;DocName=10400HB4795sam001&amp;DocNum=4795&amp;DocTypeID=HB&amp;LegID=165954&amp;GAID=18&amp;SessionID=114&amp;SpecSess=&amp;Session=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate amendment to House Bill 4795<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, would have canceled the foreign language requirement entirely. It passed the Senate unanimously on Saturday but was not taken up in the House.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In debate over both bills, supporters said they supported the concept of emphasizing foreign languages as part of the high school curriculum. But they conceded there simply aren\u2019t enough foreign language teachers available in Illinois to make the classes available to every student in every high school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat we\u2019re finding is that teacher shortage is still a big challenge in our state and we do not have enough foreign language teachers, and we want to put more effort in workforce development while we\u2019re building that pool,\u201d Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, said on the Senate floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SB 3070 passed the Senate Tuesday, May 28, by a vote of 58-0. It passed the House Sunday, May 31, on a vote of 117-0 with four members voting \u201cpresent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Childcare licensing\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bill that paves the way for the new Department of Early Childhood to take over the licensing and regulation of childcare facilities cleared the Senate Saturday and will soon be considered by the House.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill has been the subject of intense debate and negotiation since the session began. It\u2019s considered must-pass legislation because the authority already scheduled under current law to transfer to the new agency on July 1. The new bill spells out many of the rules for how the agency is to carry out that authority.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, under the bill, the term \u201cday care,\u201d as it relates to the care of children, will be changed in all statutes to \u201cearly care and education.\u201d It also changes the word \u201cfacility\u201d to \u201cprovider.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus?DocNum=3595&amp;GAID=18&amp;DocTypeID=HB&amp;LegId=162296&amp;SessionID=114\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">House Bill 3595<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sets out standards for the types of providers that have to be licensed in order to operate. It also defines the types of smaller providers that are exempt from licensing requirement but which still must register with the state as \u201crecognized alternative providers\u201d whose employees still must undergo background checks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also spells out the types of programs that are exempt from any licensing or registration requirements, such as in-home providers who serve three or fewer children, school-based extracurricular programs, activities sponsored by park districts and providers that are attached to retail shopping facilities, health spas or churches that provide care for only a few hours a day while the parent remains on the premises.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill passed the Senate on Saturday 50-7, and the House 80-33 on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>In-state tuition expansion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More students could qualify for in-state tuition at Illinois colleges and universities under a bill that will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus?DocNum=5093&amp;GAID=18&amp;DocTypeID=HB&amp;LegId=166637&amp;SessionID=114\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">House Bill 5093<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would loosen one of the requirements for paying in-state tuition by making it available to students who attended Illinois high schools for at least three years, even if they established residency outside the state before enrolling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If approved by Pritzker, the bill would take effect immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill marks the latest in a series of measures Illinois has enacted in recent years aimed at making higher education more affordable for Illinois residents and more attractive to nonresidents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasfaa.org\/State_Regional_Tuition_Exchanges\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nationwide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, many states, including Illinois, have allowed their institutions to enter reciprocal agreements with neighboring states to offer either in-state or discounted out-of-state tuition. Illinois is also one of several states that offers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.higheredimmigrationportal.org\/states\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in-state tuition to noncitizens<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who are residents of the state and graduate from local high schools, regardless of their legal status as immigrants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In recent months, however, the Trump administration has begun <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/college-students-tuition-trump-immigration-354d0a413e0e99fa6712d288e6fd381c\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suing states<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over such policies as part of its immigration enforcement crackdown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During debate on the bill, Republicans in both chambers tried to renew arguments against offering in-state tuition to noncitizens. But supporters of the bill noted that none of the public colleges or universities in Illinois had expressed opposition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt isn\u2019t just one group who would benefit from this measure,\u201d Sen. Celina Viallanueva, D-Chicago, the bill\u2019s chief Senate sponsor, said in a statement. \u201cDACA, low-income, first generation, minority and transgender students would no longer have to worry about facing higher\u00a0tuition\u00a0costs just for moving away before enrolling in college \u2014 a choice that youth rarely get a say in.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill passed the Senate on Saturday, 38-19. It passed the House Sunday, 70-40.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most public school students in Illinois will no longer be allowed to use their cell phones in school next year under legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker says he intends to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":39686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T20:23:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1140\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Sapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Sapp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Sapp\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1\"},\"headline\":\"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T20:23:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1269,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T20:23:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"Effingham's News and Sports Leader\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg\",\"width\":1140,\"height\":650},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/premier-logo-v1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/premier-logo-v1.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":69,\"caption\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1\",\"name\":\"Greg Sapp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/greg_sapp\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","og_description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/","og_site_name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","article_published_time":"2026-06-02T20:23:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1140,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Greg Sapp","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Sapp","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/"},"author":{"name":"Greg Sapp","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1"},"headline":"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass","datePublished":"2026-06-02T20:23:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/"},"wordCount":1269,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg","articleSection":["Local News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/","name":"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-02T20:23:31+00:00","description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260602-cell-phones-pqh.jpg","width":1140,"height":650},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/39683-cell-phone-ban-loosening-foreign-language-requirements-among-education-bills-to-pass\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cell Phone Ban, Loosening Foreign Language Requirements Among Education Bills to Pass"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/","name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/premier-logo-v1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/premier-logo-v1.png","width":272,"height":69,"caption":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1","name":"Greg Sapp","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/author\/greg_sapp\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Greg Sapp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39687,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39683\/revisions\/39687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}