Cell phone bans in schools are growing across the country as educators and state lawmakers attempt to address learning gaps and reduce distractions. But there are deep divisions within the movement.
New York City, Los Angeles and the state of Virginia have taken steps in recent weeks to ban students’ phones in classrooms, despite some parental resistance to the measures.
Parents worry that they won’t be able to reach their children during a school shooting or other emergency. In addition, keeping technology out of the hands of young people is a practical challenge.
“I think we have good scientific evidence that banning cell phones in classrooms during instruction is really important,” said Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer of the American Psychological Association.
“We know that because there is no such thing as multitasking. We are all switching back and forth between tasks, and children’s brains are not fully developed enough to be able to switch tasks as well as adults,” Prinstein added. “So it is really important for academic achievement that we get those cell phones out of the classroom.”
Virginia is the latest to take action on phones in schools after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) directed the state Department of Education to issue guidelines for schools on creating policies “that establish age-appropriate restrictions or elimination of cell phone use during instructional time.”
“This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn. Creating cell phone- and social media-free learning environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents and teachers,” Youngkin said last week.
Other major metropolitan areas with hundreds of thousands of students are also planning to create phone-free environments.
New York City public schools are exploring policies to eliminate phones. The Los Angeles school board has approved a policy to restrict the devices. However, details of how America’s two largest cities will handle the move have not yet been finalized.
Some argue that students should not have their phones with them at all during the school day.
“There are many, many, many reasons why policies that focus on classroom time and instructional time don’t work,” said Sabine Polak, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools Movement.
Polak said banning phones during class only puts pressure on teachers to monitor classrooms, and students are less likely to socialize face-to-face during lunch or other breaks if they have access to screens. A class-only ban also leaves phones available for illegal activities like recording and taking photos, she said.
A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 72 percent of high school teachers believe that phones are a major distraction for students. Only 33 percent of middle school teachers and 6 percent of elementary school teachers feel the same way.
Several school districts have instituted an all-day school ban. Renesha Parks, director of wellness at Richmond Public Schools in Virginia, previously told The Hill that her district has invested in bags for students to put their phones in when they arrive, which are not to be opened until the end of the day.
“The phone can’t be left with the person unless it’s in a locked bag, like a Yondr bag,” Polak said. “We found that even when they’re locked in personal lockers, kids are still finding ways to leave the classroom to access their phones.”
However, others say that the emphasis should be on lesson time, as this is the most important for students’ concentration.
“In general, we should limit the amount of time kids spend on social media. But there’s no research that says whether doing the three minutes before class or doing the home situation is different, or, you know, better or worse,” Prinstein said.
While 82 percent of elementary and secondary school teachers say their school has a policy on cell phones, 30 percent of those teachers say it is difficult to enforce the policy, according to a June Pew Research survey.
A ban on cellphones limited to classroom use would also help parents who fear they won’t be able to reach their children during an emergency. However, proponents of a cellphone ban argue that it could actually increase the danger.
“As for major emergencies […] “Your child is less safe if they have their phone with them in an emergency because their attention is distracted. They’re not paying attention when their teachers are giving them instructions on what to do because they’re too worried about trying to text friends or family to let them know everything’s OK,” said Mileva Repasky, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools movement.
Pew research shows that 70 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds believe that phones have more advantages than disadvantages, and 45 percent believe that phones make it easier to perform better in school.
Some side with the students, arguing that even a ban outside class hours is a step backwards.
“I take the opposite view here, because I think banning cellphones is at best a missed opportunity, and at worst maybe no worse, but one of the most damaging outcomes I can predict is that it will actually create a group of kids who are not prepared to be productive in society,” said Bill Salak, CTO of Brainly, an online education platform.
“I would say this is a problem that needs to be solved locally, locally, at the most local level, so teachers who are reprimanding and escalating issues that are happening in their classrooms. Parents who are more involved, parents who are more educated and this is where schools and parents can connect, and schools can talk to parents about tools that they can put on their child’s cell phone to restrict their access to social media during school hours,” he added. “There are all these tools that if schools and parents work together and they communicate like we’re going to have a better outcome than just using a giant hammer to say, ban all cell phone use in school.”
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