Millions of students will start school sans smartphones this year as states continue restricting personal device use in schools.
Twenty new states have passed legislation this year limiting the use of smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices in public schools.
Now, eleven states — Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, North Carlina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Utah and West Virginia — prohibit smartphone use during class.
Another fourteen — New York, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont — and the District of Columbia have passed “bell-to-bell” device bans forcing students to turn off and store personal tech during school hours.
The wave of regulation reflects lawmakers and parents’ growing alarm over the effects of ubiquitous smartphones on children’s education.
“[Kids aren’t] developing the skills [they] need because they are distracted with the cell phones,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul defended New York’s “bell-to-bell” ban in March.
“Our teachers [are] trying to teach algebra and geography, and they’re competing with viral dances and messages from their friends, and sometimes threats [and] bullying.”
Nearly all available research supports Hochul’s take. A 2023 study from Common Sense Media found nearly 97% of teens use their smartphones during school hours — mostly to play video games, scroll social media or watch pornography.
A Seattle Children’s Research Institute study of more than 100 teenagers from the same year determined teens spend an average of 1.5 hours on their phone during a 6.5 hour school day.
Smartphones monopolize kids’ focus with near constant notifications. The average American teen gets between 192 and 237 messages and prompts every day — about eleven every waking hour.
The constant stimuli trains kids to hyperfocus on their device. Data shows a smartphone’s mere presence in a classroom — even turned off or tucked in a backpack — can decrease students’ academic performance.
Once distracted, it can take up to 20 minutes for students to recover their focus, a 2017 study from the Association for Consumer Research finds.
Internet access compounds the inherent harms of personal tech like smartphones. The Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory on social media, for instance, shows prolonged adolescent social media use correlates with higher instances of depression, lower overall life-satisfaction, low self-esteem, poor sleep and even problems with brain development.
Conversely, school districts with “bell-to-bell” tech bans report students engage in less bullying, make better eye contact and participate more.
Perhaps its no surprise, then, that Americans look more favorably on tech limits in school than ever before.
A 2025 Pew Research survey shows 74% of American adults support limiting school smartphone use in class — up 6% from last year. Support for “bell-to-bell” bans also increased, growing to 44% from just 36% in 2024.
Importantly, the biggest demographic change occurred in adults under 30-years-old, many of whom were teens when cellphones became mainstream. Last year, only 45% supported banning phones during class. This year, 57% say they’re in favor.
Laws limiting the powerful, harmful distractions of smartphones in schools enable parents to better shield their children from dangerous, addictive tech. That’s something the Daily Citizen will always support.
Additional Articles and Resources
Plugged In Parent’s Guide to Today’s Technology
New York Prepares to Restrict School Smartphone Use
Florida School District Bans Cellphones, Gets Results
Parent-Run Groups Help Stop Childhood Smartphone Use
‘The Tech Exit’ Helps Families Ditch Addictive Tech — For Good
Video: Seven-Year-Old’s Confidence Soars After Ordering Chick-Fil-A By Himself
Surgeon General Recommends Warning on Social Media Platforms
Four Ways to Protect Your Kids from Bad Tech, from Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt
Social Psychologist Finds Smartphones and Social Media Harm Kids in These Four Ways
‘Big Tech’ Device Designs Dangerous for Kids, Research Finds
Survey Finds Teens Use Social Media More Than Four Hours Per Day — Here’s What Parents Can Do
