Overview

• At the new school year, Bremen, Hesse, Thuringia, Brandenburg and the Saarland bar private phone use on school grounds, including during breaks, though students may still bring devices.
• State ministers cite concentration and mental health concerns, with Hesse’s Armin Schwarz warning of harmful social‑media exposure and Bremen’s Sascha Karolin Aulepp rejecting phones as part of school life.
• The Bundeselternrat, Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, GMK and D64 call for media literacy, locally tailored and age‑differentiated rules, and better infrastructure, warning that blanket bans risk deepening inequalities.
• Berlin signals openness to minimum age rules for social networks and will convene an expert commission to explore modern youth media protection and guidance for schools.
• International context shapes the debate as South Korea enacts a national classroom device ban taking effect in March 2026, while in Saxony teacher and student groups resist a statewide prohibition ahead of a planned ‘Handygipfel’.