As more states ban phones in K-12 classrooms to reduce distractions and improve student engagement, an analyst says these policies do not address the deeper academic problems facing students.
At the same time, studies are warning of the harmful impacts of students spending too much time on their cellphones.
In 2026, nearly 40 states have proposed restrictions on student cellphone use in K-12 public schools, with around 20 states and Washington, D.C., implementing strict bell-to-bell phone bans for the entire school day.
The policies come as schools and leaders worry about student attention and engagement as test scores continue to decline.
The Center Square previously reported on a National Library of Medicine Digital Detox study.
“Excessive use of social media platforms and digital technology, often driven by habitual scrolling due to adaptive feed experiences, has been linked to anxiety, sleep disturbances, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors while also exacerbating mental health concerns,” according to the study.
Jared Cooney Horvath, author of the “Digital Delusion,” argued that decades of research link increased technology and screen use with declines in children’s cognitive development and learning outcomes.
Horvath, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, said screens can sometimes aid basic skills but generally reduce focus and retention in core academic settings, The Center Square previously reported.
Lance Izumi, senior director of the Center for Education at the Pasadena, Calif.-based Pacific Research Institute, agrees that cellphone use can interfere with learning but should only be viewed as a secondary factor.
“I think it is important to stress that these cellphone bans are not a silver bullet for what is ailing schools in this country,” Izumi told The Center Square. “Because the learning decline is a lot deeper than just the fact that kids use cell phones.”
Some schools have reported academic improvements after restricting cellphone use.
At Hoover High School in Fresno, Calif., student English proficiency on the Smarter Balanced assessments increased 21%. The increase followed a series of school policy changes, including cellphone restrictions during the 2023-24 school year.
The San Diego Unified School District has approved a phone-free policy in classrooms in 2025.
“Limiting the use of phones during the school day creates focused learning environments where students can fully engage with their education and build meaningful connections with their peers,” said Superintendent Fabiola Bagula.
After Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act, which requires every school district, charter school and county office of education in California to develop policies on limiting cellphone usage, went into effect on July 1.
The Center Square contacted Fresno Unified School District and other school districts for comment but did not receive a response.
Izumi said academic improvements cannot be an indication that cellphone restrictions are a cure-all.
“I think that’s an indicator that the cellphones are, you know, having an overall negative impact on student learning and their achievement,” Izumi told The Center Square.
K-12 public education accounts for nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer spending as student test scores continue to decline.
“Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before,” Education Secretary McMahon said, adding that the Trump administration supports giving states more control over education spending.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched a moratorium targeting artificial intelligence use in classrooms, along with a screen-time policy for the 2026-27 school year.
“Just because technology is everywhere doesn’t mean that it belongs everywhere,” Mamdani said during a press conference. “Children need their teachers and human connection in order to learn and in order to grow.”
The policies are part of a broader effort to address how students interact with technology during the school day. But there’s no clear data on whether test scores have improved in the state with bell-to-bell bans.
Izumi said removing phones will not automatically reverse broader academic declines.
“Even if all schools in this country were to ban cell phones, that wouldn’t necessarily mean that all of a sudden, all the kids in this country are going to be proficient in reading and math,” Izumi told The Center Square.