Putting the phone away

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: An update on smartphone bans.

Public schools across the country are tightening restrictions on student phone use in the classroom. And a new report from the Parents Television and Media Council says all 50 states are encouraging the move.

Teachers may sigh in relief, but safety-conscious parents may not.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And while momentum is strong, some experts say enforcing these bans is problematic.

WORLD’s Mary Muncy reports.

MARY MUNCY: In 2022, former English teacher Daniel Buck had what he calls his “road to Damascus moment” about smartphones.

DANIEL BUCK: And when I was teaching, the students came in and it was just silent for the first 15 minutes before the bell rang because all the students were just sitting in their own little corner, staring at their phones. And I thought, this is wrong. This is unhealthy. This is almost dystopian.

Buck used to think of himself as an optimist about technology in the classroom. After realizing the harm that phones can cause to developing brains, he started championing phone-free classrooms. Now, as director of the Conservative Education Reform Network at the American Enterprise Institute, he’s in favor of phone bans for schools.

BUCK: And so it’s kind of interrupting both the academic and the social benefits that schools give to children, which is the whole reason that we send them to school, for them to learn and to make friends.

A host of educators and state lawmakers have also called for phone bans at public schools. Their efforts seem to be paying off. Parents Television and Media Council vice president of programs Melissa Henson:

MELISSA HENSON: Every state in the country has at least worked towards some form of restriction or prohibition on smartphones in the classroom.

Restrictions on phones during the school day vary by state. More than a dozen states have banned or await legislative approval to ban phones bell-to-bell. This means that the devices must stay locked up even during breaks or lunchtime. Some states only curb smartphone use during class hours.

HENSON: So some states are still leaving it up to the districts to decide on implementation. But what we are seeing is widespread support across the country for limiting kids' ability to be on their phones and personal digital devices during school hours.

Initially, most public schools had a positive approach to personal technology. Beginning in the 2000s, schools started issuing laptops to students. Some districts even encouraged students to bring their own devices to class. They focused on helping students become media literate as soon as possible.

HENSON: A lot of that has been driven by the tech industry. And frankly, I would say a lot of fear mongering about our kids being left behind in a digital world or a technocratic world. You know, if your child isn't learning how to code in grade three, they're going to be left out of the job market.

That tech-centric perspective has changed. Smartphones have taken a noticeable toll on academic performance and social interactions. They’re also a disciplinary nightmare for educators.

HENSON: It winds up devolving into a battle of wills between teachers and students and quite often teachers are spending a considerable amount of class time not teaching the subject but just getting the kids to put the devices away.

In 2023, Florida became the first state to ban phones in public school classrooms. Since last fall, more than 30 states have advanced or passed phone ban policies. Henson credits The Anxious Generation author Jonathan Haidt for the more recent momentum.

HENSON: But what he was able to do was pull together all of this social science and present really a very compelling case for why having kids chronically online is really negatively impacting not only their physical health, but also their mental health.

According to 2024 data from EdChoice, a little over half of teachers think phones should be allowed in school, compared to almost three quarters of parents.

Some parents have safety concerns. Colyn Ritter is a senior research associate with EdChoice.

RITTER: But if you think back to 2022 or 2023 with Uvalde in Texas and Nashville and that there have really been tragic instances in schools where safety is not always guaranteed. And so parents are really … that kind of reinvigorates the argument that cell phones are really necessary.

Some experts say that in the event of a school shooting, parents can’t necessarily keep children safe by being able to text or call. Here’s Melissa Henson:

HENSON: You calling from 15 or 20 miles away from your office, you don't have all the information that the first responders have. You're not gonna be able to give your child the best advice about how to be safe in those situations. So I think we just need to recognize that that reassurance is more for us as parents. It's not going to really help our child that much in those scenarios.

But some parents will want to stay in touch. EdChoice’s Colyn Ritter says some may even choose to pull their children out of phone-free districts.

RITTER: This has broader implications of, okay, if my school bans technology and cell phones completely, and I just, that’s not something I want as a parent, I should be able to look elsewhere.

When it comes to implementing the statewide bans, schools might prove the greatest obstacles. American Enterprise Institute’s Daniel Buck once again:

BUCK: I actually think the most interesting conversation is going to be the enforcement of these policies where a lot of schools won’t enforce even basic dress code. And now we’re asking them to enforce a phone ban. A lot of schools already have restrictions on phones, but no admin kind of has the spine to enforce it. And that's really gonna be the critical juncture is, do the policymakers and administration, are they willing to enforce their own rule that they set?

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

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