Washington, D.C. — To date, only 17 states have banned the use of cellphones during the school day across all grades. New analysis from the Center for American Progress supports the establishment of federal regulations for phone-free schools and social media protections for young children.
Studies on the efficacy of cellphone bans across the United States and internationally show promising signs: improved student concentration, less bullying, lower absenteeism, and higher test scores. The authors of CAP’s report describe how policymakers can establish student-first policies that prioritize learning by removing the distraction of cellphones in classrooms, empowering parents and students, and holding social media companies accountable for providing guardrails for children on their platforms.
Federal policy recommendations include:
- Requiring every school district to develop their own phone-free school policies with clear mechanisms for enforcement.
- Creating a national grant program to support states in designing, evaluating, and implementing cellphone ban policies, and providing funding for national research on best practices.
- Compelling social media companies to include mental health warning labels on their platforms to align with interventions that educate youth and parents about the harmful effects of excessive or inappropriate use.
- Increasing the minimum age for personal data collection from 13 to 17 to strengthen online protections for younger students.
“The rise of addictive social media algorithms has turned cellphone use into a constant distraction among children and teens, particularly in the classroom environment,” said Weadé James, senior director for K-12 Education Policy at CAP and co-author of the report. “A federally enforced ban on the use of cellphones at school is a commonsense solution to eliminate disruptions during the instructional day, increase students’ concentration, and set our nation’s children up for long-term success.”
“As technology continues to evolve and shape the world around us, schools must equip students with the skills needed to interact safely in the digital world—including knowing when and how to safely and responsibly use cellphones,” said Paige Shoemaker DeMio, senior policy analyst for K-12 Education Policy at CAP and co-author of the report.
Read the report: “10 Policy Recommendations To Address Cellphone Use in Schools” by Weadé James and Paige Shoemaker DeMio
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].