How Effective Are Cellphone Bans in Schools? Experts Say…

Published: June 26, 2026

Teenage girl in school class, hand raised — Getty Images 1465474705/Solskin

By India McCarty

Schools across the country have been trying out cell phone bans, but how effective have they really been?

“We’re seeing what I think many educators would expect,” Shavar Jeffries, CEO of the KIPP Foundation, which oversees a network of public charter schools, told ABC News. “When our phones aren’t competing for our students’ attention, our classrooms are calmer, students are more focused. Teachers spend less time policing devices and they spend more time teaching.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made similar comments when assessing the state’s first year with a similar smartphone ban, saying, “80% reported that the students are behaving better in a more engaged way. They’re collaborating more. They’re talking to each other. And basically, I read all the comments. They’re acting like kids again.”

View this post on Instagram

“We are seeing kids talk to each other as they transition to the hallways,” New York City Public Schools Chief of Safety Mark Rampersant added. “We’re seeing them interact with each other in cafeterias in ways that we haven’t seen in years.”

Jeffries agreed, saying the effects of the cellphone ban “go beyond instruction.”

“Our students [are] reporting stronger connectivity with their classmates, more face-to-face conversation,” he said. “Teachers report deeper classroom conversations. Our counselors in our schools, since we initiated these bans, report fewer conflicts, less bullying connected to social media.”

He continued, “A cellphone-free environment is very conducive to those approximate causes of student learning. Having an environment in which teachers and students can focus on instruction, can focus on learning, absolutely facilitates academic gains.”

“Across the board, we’re really seeing some significant benefits,” Jeffries concluded.

While there are still no conclusive statistics that show a rise in academic performance without cellphones in the classroom, Thomas Dee, a Stanford economist who co-led a study about the impacts of cellphone bans, said to give it some time.

“I firmly believe that getting student phone use down, recapturing their attention in classrooms within schools, is a critical antecedent to realizing their academic potential,” he told NBC News. “We need to not succumb to the usual faddishness that permeates education reform, and persist with a robust learning agenda that will allow us to figure out how to manage digital devices and support child development.”

While it’s still too early to make conclusions about cellphone bans’ impact on academic performance, it’s clear that removing phones from the classroom is already benefiting students’ mental and social health.

Questions or comments? Please write to us here.

Add Movieguide® as preferred on Google