Cellphones in schools

Consumer Affairs - More schools are cracking down on cellphones in the classroom and one organization says it’s paying off. A new national survey suggests that stricter cellphone policies in schools are reshaping student behavior both inside and outside the classroom.

The data, released by Phones in Focus, a nonpartisan research initiative studying the impact of school phone policies, show a sharp increase in so-called “bell-to-bell” bans, which prohibit students from using cellphones throughout the entire school day. 

In the 2024–25 school year, 60% of surveyed schools reported having such bans. That figure climbed to 74% in 2025–26 — one of the fastest school policy shifts in recent years.

The findings are based on more than 68,000 responses from educators representing roughly 17% of U.S. public schools, making it the largest teacher survey ever conducted on school phone policies.

“We’re seeing meaningful patterns emerge in our data that reflect the national conversation around phones in schools,” said Angela Duckworth, psychologist and one of the lead investigators of Phones in Focus. “For example, teachers are seeing students talk in hallways face-to-face and engage in the kind of social learning that can’t happen through a screen.”