Smart Devices

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Draft guidance from the Virginia Department of Education says cellphones should be turned off and stored away from the morning bell to dismissal, including lunch and time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

School safeguards against technology abuses are probably lagging behind usage and youthful expertise. As school districts have been debating cell phones, the threat of artificial intelligence has moved up.

In an open letter Tuesday to K-12 schools across the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out research-based justifications and legal bases for local district policies limiting the use of smartphones on campus.

After months of speaking with school staff, parents and students in Illinois, one reporter believes cellphones aren't helpful in the classroom but that teachers need some discretion over how to restrict them.

New laws that will impact Ohio school districts this fall include one requiring them to adopt policies governing cellphone use during the day, and one requiring them not to give tech vendors rights to student records.

As part of a "Business INCubators" course at Barrington High School in Illinois, students created a website to connect farmers market vendors with new customers and reduce food waste.

Since the Marietta Board of Education in Georgia started requiring students to have their cellphones and smartwatches locked in Yondr pouches during the day, both teachers and students have seen positive changes.

Rapid City Area School District in South Dakota is one of many across the state that have found smartphones an unsustainable distraction, and current polities inadequate to police them.