Overview

• Bremen, Hessen, Thüringen, Brandenburg and the Saarland now bar private smartphone use on school grounds, including breaks, though students may still carry devices, with ministers citing mental health and concentration concerns.
• The federal government says an expert commission will start work soon on youth media protection and is open to a defined minimum age for social networks.
• An open letter from the Bundeselternrat, Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, GMK and D64 urges school-level, pedagogically grounded rules and warns blanket prohibitions could deepen inequalities and restrict digital learning access.
• Teacher associations and student representatives, including in Saxony ahead of a planned "Handygipfel," argue for differentiated or age-specific rules and stronger media education rather than statewide one-size-fits-all bans.
• Internationally, South Korea has passed a national law banning phone use during class from March 2026 and allowing teachers to restrict use across campuses, drawing support from a major teacher group and criticism from student organizations.