Most adults support public schools banning student cellphones during class but not all day, according to polling released Monday that also found most people under 30 opposing all restrictions.
The Pew Research Center reported that 68% of adults responding to a recent survey supported prohibiting phones during class time. That included 65% of those with school-aged children, many of whom voiced concerns about learning disruptions and cyberbullying.
However, just 36% of both groups endorsed depriving students of smartphones for the entire school day, arguing that bell-to-bell restrictions are too difficult to enforce and deprive students of essential parental contact.
The nonprofit research center noted that older respondents and self-identified Republicans were the most likely to support restrictions.
Only 45% of survey respondents younger than 30 said they supported in-class bans, compared with 67% of those aged 30 to 49 and 80% of adults 50 and older, and the survey found similar differences regarding bell-to-bell restrictions.
Politically, 74% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats supported classroom bans.
“Among those who support a ban during class, nearly all (98%) say a reason they back it is because students would have fewer distractions in class,” researchers Monica Anderson, Jeffrey Gottfried and Eugenie Park wrote in a summary of the findings. “This includes a whopping 91% who say it’s a major reason.”
At least 15 states have passed laws or enacted policies banning smartphones in public schools over the past year, starting with a law that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed last summer.
The policies reflect a growing bipartisan consensus linking increased screen time during pandemic lockdowns of schools to declining academic performance and increased mental health problems in recent years.
Nevertheless, they have divided some parents who insist their children need phones to reach them in an emergency or document teacher bias.
California became the latest state to embrace the trend last month when Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law directing public schools to restrict smartphones by July 2026.
While most new laws leave local school districts to decide the extent of restrictions, some state and local officials have gone further. They include Virginia, where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring all public schools to implement “bell-to-bell” bans by January.
According to psychologists and cyber safety experts, bell-to-bell bans are the most effective for breaking screen addiction and keeping students focused. Many schools implementing them have purchased sealable pouches or lockers where students deposit their devices for the day.
Pew surveyed 5,110 adults nationwide from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6. Other key findings from the survey included:
• 70% of those supporting classroom bans said a major reason is to help students develop better social skills.
• Half of the same group cited making students “less likely to cheat” to justify restrictions.
• 39% of the same group said banning phones in class would reduce bullying in schools.
• 86% of those opposing classroom phone bans said parents should be able to reach their children when needed.
• 37% of this group said it would be “too difficult” for teachers to enforce bans.
• 32% said parents should decide whether their children can use phones in class.
• 31% of the same group said phones in class can be a useful teaching tool.
Worried parents have been keen to send cellphones to school with their children since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and reports of mass shootings ushered in the new millennium.
But veteran teachers say they have observed for years that students use the latest-generation smartphones more for cyberbullying, pornography and video games than for texting mom.
They point out that past generations made it through school with only a front office phone to reach their parents in emergencies, and argue that school shootings should not determine campus phone policy.
Leading teachers’ unions and some right-leaning parental rights groups have endorsed the recent move toward confiscating phones.
Kimberly Fletcher, founder and president of the conservative Moms for America, said schools that have implemented stricter bans have found them easier to enforce and gotten less student pushback.
“Teachers and administrators generally report improved focus and fewer distractions,” Ms. Fletcher said in an email. “Students dislike it for obvious reasons, but many adapt quickly.”
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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