As of January 16, 2025, 13 states had enacted laws or policies on K-12 classroom or school cell phone usage. 

Recently, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy called for a statewide ban on cell phones in schools, while Pennsylvania and Delaware have allocated money for school districts to purchase cell phone pouches for storing phones during the day.

Are cell phone bans effective? Are there legitimate reasons for students to have cell phones during the school day? Dr. Kim Dean, an associate professor of Education, weighed in on these questions and more.

This Q&A has been slightly edited for clarity and length.

What are the positives to children having phones in school – and what are the negatives? Do they help promote learning or hinder it?
There is the potential for some students to feel more supported when they have access to their cell phones. For some students, that support does not exist in other places, perhaps only digitally do they feel belonging. As we know too, it is so convenient for loved ones for planning and basic logistics, and phones offer a security blanket as society has become much more danger oriented.

However, if the digital space is perceived by students to meet their social needs, they are NOT exercising the skills required to navigate the rollercoaster of life in three dimensions. The skills for coping with awkward, uncomfortable, or emotionally painful bumps in the road that occur in life are exercised when you are present and stay present. Escaping to the digital universe of distraction and delight seems to rob youth from the practice of building muscles for coping, persevering, and problem solving. Stronger in-real-life connections are the only way to meaningfully combat the loneliness pandemic. Having heads down on phones creates an invisible bubble that prevents students from engaging.

The school my children attend is working to remove cell phones from group spaces (classrooms, lunch, playground, etc.). In this way, odds of social interaction and engagement go up.

Outside of direct education, what other important reasons are there for children having phones in schools?
As mentioned, it’s heartbreaking, but the small risk of having the capacity to connect with loved ones if there is an emergency is a big reason students cite for resisting separating from their cell phones right now. This is a very low risk, but students’ and parents’ anxiety can be high.

In addition, cell phones give students and teachers easy access for almost immediate communication with loved ones for various logistical things throughout the day.

What are the challenges schools have with banning phones? And would a ban in a school actually be effective?
Our brains have been rewired, so few can tolerate going without a phone. Students have significant fear about the discomfort of being away from their phones. 

For meaningful success in reducing students’ dependence on phones, as opposed to just enforcing bans, which are typically coercive and punishment based and likely lead to negative student-adult interactions, schools need to intentionally work on building students’ awareness of the value of developing healthy device management and the discipline to turn it off and reflect on how they feel and how their engagement in the day was different. Capacity for focus and sustained attention is a superpower for both social and academic wellbeing, and our phones are specifically programmed to steal that from us. It is a battle that will require schools, families, and governments to work together to address. We can not leave it to for-profit companies to put our children’s best interests first. 

Dr. Dean recommends the following resources for more information: