Overview

• Federal Education Minister Karin Prien named 18 members to a new commission on child and youth protection in the digital world, with students not on the panel but promised separate participation formats.
• Schleswig-Holstein introduced rules for this school year that limit private smartphone use in grades 1–9 to media education or emergencies and permit broader use from grade 10, with schools to update their codes by year’s end.
• States continue to diverge: Hesse enforces “smartphone-protection zones,” Brandenburg and Thuringia curb private use in primary years, Bavaria restricts to teacher-approved use, while others leave decisions to school policies.
• Research cited by experts remains mixed, including a recent study finding no measurable gains from school restrictions, while the Leopoldina urges a precautionary ban on devices in schools through grade 10.
• Political and stakeholder pushback is growing, with Lower Saxony’s SPD rejecting a blanket ban and the Bundesschülerkonferenz calling for €100 billion for schools, more mental-health support, and age-appropriate media education instead of broad prohibitions.