Smart Devices

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt last week advised the North Carolina Board of Education against a statewide approach to restricting student cellphone use, arguing it would be divisive and better left up to local leaders.

Three months after Broward County Public Schools implemented a policy against most cellphone use during school hours, staff and parents are largely positive about it while students are ambivalent to negative.

The editorial board of The Columbian makes the case for school districts following guidance from state officials and implementing restrictions on student use of cellphones in class.

The nonprofit EdTech Leaders Alliance started a list of Scary Apps last year to raise awareness of ed-tech tools with “privacy policies that should give K-12 educators a fright.” A new one is posted each day of October.

School cellphone bans are key to combating skyrocketing rates of adolescent anxiety and depression, author Jonathan Haidt said in a webinar. Performance increases follow, California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said.

Staff at Sutter Middle School in Folsom found that Yondr pouches created extra headaches when it came to monitoring them, but a policy of requiring phones to be powered off during school hours has been a success.

Students at George Washington Carver High School developed a free app that estimates cost of individual colleges, financial aid eligibility, loan options, repayment plans and future earnings.

Spokane Public Schools this year barred cellphone use in class at its 57 schools. Teachers are seeing more engagement, and students report feeling more focused and social, with more talking and playing games at lunch.

Since a new state law required student phones to stow their phones and keep them turned off at school, teachers are seeing higher engagement, and many students who balked at first are admitting they're more engaged.

After initially saying the state's guidance for school cellphone policies gives “short shrift” to students with disabilities, advocates then read the actual policy and said it goes a long way toward addressing their concerns.

According to a summer survey by the EdWeek Research Center, 11 percent of district leaders reported a complete ban on smartwatches in their schools, while 34 percent said they're permissible under specific conditions.

More than 30 Boston-area public schools are in the process of restricting student phone use on campus. Students and parents said there were "growing pains," but many are happy with the results.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring districts to pass rules by July 1, 2026, to limit or ban students from using smartphones on campus or while students are under the supervision of school staff.

In addition to having to turn their phones off during class, students at Middletown Township School District will not be allowed to bring their phones to school for at least five days if they bully other students.

While not declaring a statewide policy, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order encouraging, but not requiring, schools to find strategies to limit student use of cellphones, and asking parents to talk to their kids.

While they await a shipment of magnetically locking pouches to store student phones, Manchester-area schools saw the number of calls to parents regarding phone-use violations drop from 50 in a day to 35.

Some 350 schools in New York City are already enforcing restrictions on smartphones and other personal devices, with teachers supporting system-wide policies and parents more mixed on the idea.

Draft guidance from the Virginia Department of Education says cellphones should be turned off and stored away from the morning bell to dismissal, including lunch and time between class periods.