Report card finds ‘room for improvement’ in states’ school cell phone policies
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By
Chris Teale
Just two states — North Dakota and Rhode Island — have implemented what several groups described as a “gold standard” bell-to-bell policy. Others have more work to do.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun used part of his recent State of the State address to show his support for a bill limiting cell phone use in schools, something he said would “give parents veto power over their kids and social media.”
It makes Indiana the latest state to consider some form of ban or limits on cell phone usage in schools, a trend that has transcended ideological divides and received bipartisan support. Almost 30 states now ban or limit cell phones in classrooms, while others have policies in place encouraging school districts to limit usage and others require districts to have some sort of policy although they do not specify the type.
But a new report card from the Becca Schmill Foundation, the Institute for Families and Technology, Smartphone-Free Childhood US, and Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation warned that states must do more to curb cell phone use in school, and many are falling short of what the groups deem the “gold standard,” which is a policy requiring students to store their phones in secure, inaccessible locations for the entire day.
That standard, known as a bell-to-bell policy, exists in just two states: North Dakota and Rhode Island, the report card found, meaning both received “A” grades. Meanwhile, the groups gave 17 states and Washington, D.C. a “B” ranking for having students store their phones in locations that are still accessible. Eight states received a “C” grade for only banning the use of personal devices during classroom time. The rest of the states either failed to pass or introduce phone-free legislation last year, while others received an “Incomplete” as their legislative sessions occur biennially.
“We looked at this wave [of legislation] and said it’s very encouraging,” said Lina Nealon, director of strategic partnerships at IFT, a nonprofit that works to protect children from the various harms of the digital world. “However, not all laws are created equal… [There is] absolutely room for improvement overall.”
The groups said a bell-to-bell restriction on cell phone use with secure, inaccessible storage has several benefits for students and their teachers. Those include improved academic performance, stronger physical and mental health, increased teacher satisfaction, deeper personal relationships and stronger student safety and privacy.
“All these key reasons are why we support this one policy,” Nealon said. “It's pretty astounding that when it's implemented and implemented correctly, it can greatly enhance all of these different areas.”
Reactions, however, appear to be mixed. The groups pointed to a recent nationwide survey of 800 registered voters, which found that 91% of parents whose children attend bell-to-bell phone-free schools support the policy, while more than 80% of voters support bell-to-bell phone policies.
However, the Pew Research Center found young people more reticent in a survey earlier this year. It found that 41% of U.S. teenagers support banning high and middle school students from using cell phones during class, while just 17% support a bell-to-bell ban, and 73% oppose it.
“I am very optimistic,” Nealon said. “Everywhere that we've seen that bell-to-bell policies are implemented, they never go back… I think we're going to continue seeing this wave of legislatures and districts moving towards that gold standard.”
Lawmakers and policymakers have highlighted the success of their cell phone bans. At a House hearing last year, Matthew Gibbins, the assistant superintendent in the Richardson, Texas, Independent School District, testified that the district has seen in-school and out-of-school suspensions reduced by as much as 54% since implementing its policy on devices, while teacher retention rates have improved, with many saying they have stayed due to the district’s phone-free environment.
“When paired with clear policy and strong campus leadership, a phone-free environment can help schools become more focused, less distracted, and more student-centered,” Gibbins said at the time.
More work lies ahead, however, as the groups behind the report card called for states to have stronger policies, including those that received a “B” grade for lacking secure, inaccessible phone storage. And Nealon said states that only ban devices during classroom instructional time fall very short, as it means teachers are “enforcers of the policy, which takes away valuable instruction time.”
“We always want to set up our students and schools for the greatest likelihood of success,” Nealon added.