Two recent nationally representative RAND Corporation surveys show that student views of cellphone bans may be softening as more schools move to restrict access to devices during the school day.
“The debate over cellphone policies in schools reveals a complex balancing act between ensuring school safety and reducing distractions to keep students focused on learning,” one of the reports states. “At the same time, schools must find ways to maintain communication between students and their families. The near ubiquity of cellphones in students’ lives and the growing role that technology plays in the classroom further complicate these issues.”
That study, Principals See Many Benefits of Cellphone Policies, but Youth Remain Skeptical, found that 86 percent of principals largely view policies that restrict or prohibit students’ cellphone use as beneficial, especially in reducing instances of cyberbullying (54 percent) and inappropriate phone use such as streaming fights between students or taking inappropriate pictures of peers (67 percent) which benefit overall school climate (70 percent). About 60 percent of students were also supportive of restrictions on cellphone use during class time but just 10 percent agreed that bell-to-bell policies that prohibit cellphone use during the entire school day were beneficial. Students expressed concern that such policies limit their ability to stay connected to parents (81 percent).
Nearly 90 percent of students said cellphone bans in the classroom reduce distractions, 54 percent said these policies reduce cheating, 42 percent said they improved social skills among their classmates and 27 percent said bullying decreased.
However, in addition to wanting to stay connected with family, 46 percent disagreed with cellphone restriction policies, arguing that devices can be useful for classwork, while the same proportion said “Kids need to learn on their own how to responsibly use cellphones.”
“School leaders will need to grapple with these competing priorities and aim to strike the right balance as they craft cellphone policies that are age appropriate, enforceable, and responsive to the needs of both educators and students,” according to the report.
The second study, Cellphone Bans in a National Sample of US Public School Principals, found that nearly 97 percent of K-12 public school principals surveyed in October 2024 reported having a cellphone policy, and that these policies are likely to be more strict in higher-poverty schools.
Of the 985 respondents, elementary schools had higher rates of not allowing cellphones in school (almost 7 percent) and not allowing cellphones to be used while school is in session (81 percent), while middle (7 percent) and high schools (over 23 percent) were more likely to allow student cellphone use when class is not in session (or at the teacher’s discretion) compared with elementary schools (close to 4 percent).
