Overview

• The prohibition now covers upper secondary schools as it takes effect with the start of the 2025–26 academic year.
• Implementation is left to each school, ranging from lockers and teacher custody to switched‑off phones in backpacks, with models like numbered tray posts at Milan’s Liceo Parini and collection routines at Bologna’s Rosa Luxemburg institute.
• Any unauthorized use is treated as a rules violation, with sanctions escalating from written reprimands up to suspension under the principle of graduality.
• Sanctions can influence conduct grades, and a conduct mark below 6 can result in automatic failing, a point driving debate over proportionality.
• Educators are weighing enforcement against digital learning needs, as some leaders prefer returning devices to parents over suspensions, and UNESCO counts Italy among 79 systems worldwide with classroom restrictions.