States are rethinking student cellphone use, but digital devices are still essential in classrooms

Across the U.S., more schools are implementing policies restricting cellphones as concerns about digital distraction, mental health, and academic performance rise.

The scale of the issue is significant. According to a 2023 report from Common Sense Media,
97% of students between the ages of 11 and 17 use their cellphones at
least once during the school day. These students spend a median of 43
minutes online each day during school hours. Social media, YouTube, and
gaming were the students’ top cellphone uses.

Schools have already begun taking action. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics
published in 2025 shows that 77% of public schools ban cellphones
during classes. Some 38% of schools have cellphone policies that
restrict use outside of class as well—including during free periods,
between classes, or during extracurricular activities.

Policymakers
in different states and educators in school districts across the
country are putting into place a variety of solutions. Some rely on
partial restrictions, while others enforce complete bans.

Many are still searching for the balance between technology access and minimizing distraction.

What is clear, however, is that cellphones have become one of the central issues shaping today’s classroom environment.

The role of technology in the classroom

As researchers and professors who study the integration of technology for teaching and learning—and
who are also parents of school-age children—we firmly believe that
digital technologies are no longer optional add-ons. They have become
indispensable in modern classrooms, acting as versatile instruments for
instruction, collaboration, and student engagement.

Take, for example, the ongoing shift from traditional paper textbooks to digital ones. This transformation has broadened access and created new opportunities for interactive, personalized learning. Abundant evidence demonstrates the positive effects of technology in supporting students’ engagement in class and their academic performance.

Students’
access to digital devices has improved significantly as schools across
the United States continue investing in technology infrastructure. A 2023 report from the National Center for Education Statisitics
indicates that 94% to 95% of public schools now provide devices to
students who need them, although disparities exist between states.

A growing number of districts are adopting 1:1 initiatives,
ensuring that every student has access to a personal device such as a
laptop or tablet. These initiatives accelerated after the COVID-19
pandemic made clear the need for reliable access to learning
technologies in schools for all students. They highlight the central
role technology now plays in shaping everyday classroom instruction.

These
technologies hold great educational potential. Yet, when not integrated
thoughtfully and regulated effectively, they can inadvertently reduce
focus and undermine learning.

Our recent systematic review on digital distraction in classrooms, which synthesized 26 empirical studies, finds three main drivers of distraction among students:

• Technology-related factors included constant social
  networking, texting, and cellphone addiction. These accounted for over
  half of the reported distractions.
• Personal needs, such as entertainment, made up more than one-third.
• Instructional environment, including classroom
  instruction that isn’t engaging, poor classroom management, and
  difficult course content, accounted for the rest.

To address these challenges, the authors of the papers we
reviewed suggested strategies such as teaching students how to control
their own behavior and focus, silencing notifications, issuing clear
device policies, or banning devices.

The
studies in our review also drew a clear distinction between
school-provided and personally owned mobile devices. Devices provided by
schools are typically equipped for instructional purposes, enhanced
with stronger security and designed to restrict distracting uses.
Personal devices are far less regulated and more prone to off-task use.

As
schools increasingly provide devices designed for learning, the role of
personal cellphones in classrooms becomes harder to justify as they
present more risks of distraction than educational benefits.

Laws and policies regarding cellphone use

Several states in the U.S. have passed laws banning or restricting cellphone use in schools, with some notable differences.

States vary in how they define wireless communication devices. In Michigan, Senate Bill 234,
passed in May 2025, describes a wireless communication device as an
“electronic device capable of, but not limited to, text messaging, voice
communication, entertainment, navigation, accessing the internet, or
producing email.”

While most of the states have several technology
types listed under wireless communication devices, a Colorado bill
passed in May 2025 clearly identified that laptops and tablets did not
fall under the list of restricted wireless communication devices.

Most state laws don’t specify whether the bans apply to both personally owned devices and school-owned devices. One exception is the bill Missouri passed in July 2025, which clearly specifies its ban refers only to personal devices.

North Carolina
made exceptions in a bill approved in July 2025, allowing students to
use wireless communication devices for instructional purposes. Other
exceptions in the North Carolina bill include an emergency, when
students’ individual education programs call for it, and a documented
medical condition.

In their bills, most states provide
recommendations for school districts to create cellphone use policy for
their students. To take one typical example, the policy for Wake County
in North Carolina, one of the state’s largest school districts,
specifically refers to personal wireless communication devices. For
elementary and middle school students, they must be silenced and put
away between morning and afternoon bells, either in a backpack or
locker. For high school students, teachers may allow them to be used for
lessons, but they must otherwise be silenced and put away during
instructional time. They can be used on school buses with low volume and
headphones.

Kui Xie is the dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Florence Martin is a professor of learning, design, and technology at North Carolina State University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.