A Look at State Efforts to Ban Cellphones in Schools and Implications for Youth Mental Health

Note: Figure 1 was updated on Nov. 4, 2024, to reflect Alaska and Oregon’s recent policy recommendations.

Heading into the 2024-2025 school year, a growing number of states are implementing or considering state-wide bans on cellphones in schools. Many leaders in education and policymakers suggest cellphone bans will help mitigate youth mental health concerns and distractions during academic instruction. The resurgence of cellphone bans follows two advisories from the U.S. Surgeon General on the youth mental health crisis and the harmful impacts of social media use and recommendations from UNESCO to limit cellphone use in schools across the world. Unlike many recent political issues, school cellphone ban policies have largely received bipartisan support, and the Biden-Harris administration continues to promote online safety for youth. At the same time, research on the effectiveness of cellphone bans is limited, and although multiple states are adopting these bans, challenges remain with enforcement, accommodating exceptions, and equity.

How widespread are school cellphone bans?

Cellphone bans began decades ago amid concerns about drug deals among students via cellphones or pager devices, and have fluctuated since. In 2009, 91% of public schools prohibited cellphone use, which fell to 66% in 2015 before rising again to 76% in 2021. Cellphone bans are now being considered at the state level in light of growing student academic and mental health concerns that are associated with excessive use of smartphones.

Eight states have passed state-wide policies that ban or restrict cellphone use in schools as of November 4th, 2024 (Figure 1). These policies vary from state to state. 

• California’s Governor recently signed the Phone-Free School Act, which requires school districts and charter schools to develop and adopt a phone policy that either limits or entirely prohibits smartphone use during school by July of 2026. Exceptions will be made for medical necessity, emergencies, educational purposes, or with faculty permission.
• Florida passed a phone ban for K-12 classrooms that prohibits cellphone use during class time and blocks access to social media for all devices on district Wi-Fi. Additionally, there is a digital literacy component beginning in sixth grade that requires education on the spread of misinformation on social media and digital footprints. The ban went into effect in July 2024.
• Indiana’s ban prohibits students from using any portable wireless device (including cellphones, gaming devices, laptops, and tablets) during instructional time, with exceptions from teachers and/or administrators, or during emergencies. Each school board in Indiana is then expected to draft and publicly post specific policies for their schools – i.e. whether students can access their devices during lunch or what consequences students may face for using prohibited devices. The ban went into effect in July 2024.
• Louisiana passed a ban, which will take effect in the 2024-2025 academic year, that prohibits both the use and possession of cellphones throughout the school day. If cellphones are brought onto school property, they must be turned off and stored away. Exceptions can be made for students who require learning accommodations.
• Minnesota’s bill instructs school districts and charter schools to adopt policies on student cell phone use and possession by March 2025, but it does not specify the nature or extent of these policies.
• Ohio’s ban, similarly to Indiana’s, requires every school district to create and implement official policies regarding cellphone use at school. The bill includes exceptions for those with health conditions that require monitoring or for learning accommodations. The bill will take effect in August 2024.
• South Carolina’s ban was implemented via the Governor’s Budget Proviso 1.103, which requires public schools seeking State Aid to Classrooms to implement the model policy drafted by the State Board of Education beginning in January 2025. The Board’s model policy was approved in September of 2024, prohibiting students from accessing unauthorized electronic devices unless authorized for educational or health purposes. A special exception is made for students who volunteer for emergency response organizations, who must receive written permission.
• Virginia’s Governor established Executive Order 33, which ordered state officials to solicit public opinion regarding cellphones in schools to allow them to create definitions of “cellphone-free education” and to publish both model implementation plans and draft policy guidance to inform public school systems’ phone policies. The governor also ordered the state to make $500,000 available to support the implementation of school cellphone policies.

Twelve states have introduced state-wide legislation that bans or restricts cellphone use in schools and education departments in nine states have issued recommended policies or pilot programs that similarly aim to ban or restrict cellphone use in schools (Figure 1). States are taking a variety of measures to mitigate cellphone use during instruction time. In Alabama, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, their respective education departments have issued guidance on restricting cellphone use in schools (Figure 1). Pilot programs via the education departments in Arkansas and Delaware allocate funds for students to use lockable magnetic phone pouches during school hours. Similarly, while legislation is under consideration in Pennsylvania, the Governor amended the existing School Safety and Mental Health grant program, allowing for the purchase of lockable phone pouches. Georgia has restricted access to social media platforms during school, and New Jersey established a commission to study the effects of social media use at school. Arizona and Utah each introduced bills that subsequently failed, but draft bills indicate that these states continue to work towards phone-free learning environments.

Implementation and enforcement of cellphone bans may be difficult to navigate. The enforcement of these cellphone bans often becomes an added responsibility for teachers. Exceptions to these bans are also challenging to navigate as many students may need their devices for medical reasons or parents have differing expectations for maintaining contact. Additionally, cellphone bans have brought to light equity concerns – for example, New York’s prior state-wide cellphone ban was lifted in 2015 in part because of stricter enforcement at schools serving students from low-income households compared to schools serving students from high-income households. At the same time, banning cellphones has been linked to positive outcomes, such as improved test scores, especially among students who typically do not perform as well academically.

What is the connection between cellphone use and mental health?

Youth often use cellphones to access social media and social media is linked to poor mental health. In 2023, a survey of adolescents found that 51% reported using social media for at least four hours per day. Adolescent social media use is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression, exposure to harmful content – the effects of which adolescents are more susceptible to – and body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, especially among girls. Excessive social media use and social media addiction are associated with sleep issues, which may result in negative neurological effects. However, social media use among youth can also be beneficial as it allows for self-expression, finding communities with shared interests, and accessing important resources, including mental health resources.

Approximately nine in ten public schools report occurrences of cyberbullying – a form of bullying through technological devices, including cellphones – among students (Figure 2). Cyberbullying is associated with social and emotional distress, depression, and suicidal ideation among youth and is more often experienced by female and sexual minority youth compared to their peers. In 2023, 16% of high school students reported electronic bullying, and this was heightened among LGBT+ adolescents (25%) and females (21%). Technological devices can also be used to create and spread digitally altered pornographic content without consent – a practice that primarily targets females and may negatively impact their mental health. Further, cellphone ownership among youth is linked to increased experiences of cyberbullying.

Excessive cellphone use can distract from in-person socialization and is associated with loneliness among adolescents. Establishing and building relationships with peers is beneficial to youth well-being and can have a protective effect on adolescents experiencing adversity. With the distraction of cellphones, peer relationship-building may be negatively impacted.

Approximately 40% of public schools report moderate to severe negative impacts on student learning and on teacher and staff morale when students use their electronic devices without permission (Figure 3). Many teachers report that students being distracted with their cellphones is a major problem in their classrooms and that enforcing cellphone restrictions is challenging. The presence of smart phones may reduce cognitive capacity, especially for those highly addicted to their phones, and notifications disrupt focus and attention. Further, there is a negative association between time spent on smartphones and academic performance.

What is known on the effectiveness of cellphone bans and other actions to address youth mental health?

While evidence on the outcomes of school cellphone bans is limited, widespread concerns regarding the harms of smartphone use on youth well-being continue to invoke action by policymakers and leaders in education. Emerging research on student outcomes is mixed, with some studies suggesting improvements in student mental health and academic performance and a reduction in bullying, and others showing little to no change. While evidence on school bans is inconsistent, rising concerns regarding the harms of social media and internet use among youth have led to policy and safety measures being introduced at the state and federal level. For instance, policymakers recently introduced bipartisan legislation – the Focus on Learning Act – that calls on the U.S. Department of Education to conduct studies on the impact of cellphone use on students’ academic and mental health outcomes, among other provisions. Additionally, as of December 2024, the U.S. Department of Education called on all states and districts to adopt measures to manage cellphone use in schools and published guidance which includes example policies, considerations to accommodate needs of different populations, and policy evaluation and modification guidelines. This guidance was published in response to the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address youth mental health and online safety. Other multi-prong approaches are also being implemented, such as the Biden-Harris administration’s continued efforts to improve online safety for children. These include creating the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, which recently released Best Practices for Families and Guidance for Industry, and a Call to Action to mitigate image-based sexual abuse. Additionally, the Surgeon General recommended that social media platforms include a warning label that states that social media is linked to poor mental health among adolescents.