Overview

• Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., launched new rules this fall, bringing to 35 the states with laws or policies limiting student phone use, a rapid shift since Florida’s first-in-the-nation law in 2023.
• Eighteen states and D.C. bar phones throughout the school day in at least some grades, seven restrict them during class only, and many districts use tools such as Yondr pouches, lockers or teacher collection to enforce rules.
• Early classroom reports describe fewer disruptions and more student interaction, including a Kentucky senior noting more one-on-one time with teachers and an Alabama teacher calling the change "magic" after a statewide classroom ban.
• Parents voice safety and communication concerns, with an Emory survey finding parental resistance the top obstacle and advocates urging better notification practices and clearer roles for families.
• Researchers say benefits require longer-term study as evidence largely shows correlations rather than causation, even as polling finds broad support for restrictions among adults and teachers and a few legislatures resist statewide mandates.