What’s happening?
As the new school year begins for students across the country, a growing number of students are facing strict new restrictions on when and where they can use their mobile phones.
The push to ban phones in schools has been growing in the past year. As of July 2023, 11 states have enacted new regulations to limit student phone use in the classroom and on campus. The list is growing. Virginia, Ohio and Minnesota have already passed phone regulations that will go into effect next year. Several other states, including California and New York, are exploring their own bans.
In the absence of national laws, cities, counties, and individual schools take action themselves.
The case for telephone bans
The phone-free schools movement is fueled by the belief that the devices are detrimental to learning and damaging to students’ social and emotional health. More than 70 percent of high school teachers say cell phone distraction is a “major problem” in their classrooms. Many education experts also believe that phones fuel bullying, sexual misconduct and even violence. In June, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy argued that banning phones from schools is an important step in curbing the mental health crisis plaguing America’s youth.
Not everyone agrees with banning phones in schools. Some of the loudest opposition often comes from parents, who worry that their children will be less safe if they don’t have access to a phone. But the proliferation of phone bans suggests that the anti-phone cause is winning the debate across the country.
Not all prohibitions are equal
For many schools, the debate really begins when they decide to restrict phone use. That’s because there’s no consensus on what “ban phones” actually means.
A recent Education Week survey shows the wide variation in how schools enforce their cell phone policies. In many cases, cell phone bans apply only to the classroom. Students are required to lock their devices away during class time but are free to use them during breaks like lunch or between classes. Other schools prohibit students from using their phones for the entire school day, often by placing them in lockers or sealed cases that can only be opened by a staff member at the end of the day. A small minority of schools ban phones entirely on campus, effectively requiring students to leave their devices at home.
Each of these strategies has its own pros and cons. Bans that apply only to the classroom are less likely to generate pushback from parents and students, but they can also be harder to enforce and still leave students vulnerable to the potential dangers of phones during non-class hours. At the same time, not every school has the resources to spend $25 per student on cases to support an all-day ban. There are also concerns that kids could miss out on some of the positive aspects of the internet or face safety risks under stricter policies, especially if they’re not even allowed to bring their phones on the way to school.
Imposing a phone ban also means enforcing it, and there’s a lot of debate about what the consequences should be when students inevitably break the ban. Some cities take a hard line. In New Orleans, for example, students who break the rules can be fined, have their phones confiscated for days or weeks, and even suspended or expelled for repeat offenses. Other schools simply confiscate the phone until the end of the day or until a parent can pick it up.
Finally, there is the question of who should set these rules in the first place. Universal bans imposed by the state government or at the city level may have more authority and help ensure that every school follows the same rules, but they can also prevent schools or even individual teachers from tailoring their policies to the specific needs of their students.
Perspectives
Total bans are the only truly effective answer
“It’s understandable that individual schools and districts … are trying to crack down on smartphones. Students should keep their devices in backpacks or lockers during class, or put them in magnetic, sealable bags. By 2024, these efforts should go even further: enact an outright ban on bringing cellphones to school, which parents should welcome and support.” — Editorial, Washington Post
Bans should only apply in the classroom
“It is during those in-between periods … that students can experience the mental health benefits of phone-free interactions, allowing them to grow socially and emotionally.” — Sheila Kelly, board member of Arlington Parents for Education, told The 74
Schools must be careful not to overdo it with punishments
“We live in a time when punishing students — including things like confiscating their cell phones — is out of fashion. Schools have heard loud and clear that students are struggling, that they are vulnerable, and that building relationships is a priority. Making students feel welcome. Punitive discipline is alienating. … There is a tension between the overwhelming desire to ease discipline and the need for consistent enforcement if we are to reduce the number of phones in the classroom.” — Tim Daly, Fordham Institute
Severe penalties are needed to have a chance of being banned from the labor market.
“Restricting or banning cell phone use should be implemented in all school districts with strict penalties that show students it’s not worth bending the rules.” — Ray Marcano, Columbus Dispatch
Schools should have the power to decide what works best for their students
“Cell phones may be an easy bogeyman, but blanket bans are ill-informed and regressive. … Teachers in the field need to decide when and whether to let their students bring cell phones to class so they can use learning apps to help students make progress.” — Michael B. Horn, Education Next
The rules should be set out at the top to ensure consistency and follow-through
“District- or state-wide initiatives reach more schools and go into effect in schools in an area at or around the same time. This is better than a piecemeal approach that can leave some schools without a policy. By codifying these rules at the top, it also takes the burden off the school board of making these decisions.” — Bryce Fiedler, Charlotte Observer
No one should pretend that banning phones will magically solve every problem
“If you ban it, it’s not going to solve all cyberbullying. It’s not going to turn a D student into an A student. There are a lot more factors involved. And so you really have to make sure that when you ban cellphones, it’s not just a symptom of a larger problem that might be going on.” — Liz Kolb, a professor of teacher education at the University of Michigan, tells NPR
Phone bans only exacerbate the problems they are supposed to address
“The Internet is the most powerful educational tool we have, and the phone … allows us to carry the Internet in our pockets. I would not want the phone taken away from me. … If we think we’re going to solve the problem by taking phones away from kids, we’re not. If anything, we’re adding to their anxiety.” — Peter Gray, a professor of child psychology at Boston College, tells Axios