Overview

• South Korea’s parliament approved a nationwide law barring phones and similar devices on school grounds from March 2026, with exceptions for instruction and students with disabilities, after rights officials judged such limits educationally justified.
• At the new school year in Germany, Bremen, Hesse, Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saarland now generally prohibit private smartphone use on public school premises, including breaks, with limited exemptions in upper grades.
• German ministers justify tighter rules with risks to concentration, sleep and mental health, citing research such as UKE data indicating roughly one in four 10- to 17-year-olds shows addictive or risky media use.
• Saxony’s “Handygipfel” opened with a ministry survey showing 56% of primary schools already enforce full bans and most others restrict use; Minister Conrad Clemens signaled statewide guidance is imminent and outlined a process to draft rules by year-end, with a primary- and special-school ban targeted for January pending final decisions.
• An open letter from the Bundeselternrat, Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, GMK and D64 urges schools to strengthen age-appropriate media literacy and set locally negotiated rules, a stance echoed by many teacher associations, while Federal Education Minister Karin Prien said she will convene an expert group next week.