Portland, Oregon, and South Carolina might not have much in common. But both have taken a crucial step to protect students: banning smartphone use in public schools.
After more than a decade of distracted learning, increased bullying, declining academic performance, and mental-health challenges wrought by social media, the effects of smartphones on American children have become impossible to ignore. The solution is as straightforward as it is overdue: states should follow Portland and South Carolina’s example by prohibiting student smartphone use in public schools during the school day. Our recent Manhattan Institute model legislation points the way.
Strong bipartisan support exists for such action. A Manhattan Institute poll shows that 73 percent of voters support limiting smartphone access in schools—including overwhelming majorities of Republicans (80 percent), Democrats (71 percent), and Independents (66 percent). In New York City, 63 percent of public school teachers favor banning these devices outright.
The reasons for this consensus are clear. The average student with a smartphone gets hundreds of notifications per day, many during school hours. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has argued that the international decline in teen mental health, which began around 2010, is best explained by the rapid adoption of smartphones and social media. Teens now struggle with poor sleep habits, constant comparison with one’s peers, cyberbullying, and a loss of real-world social interaction. In the most extreme cases, students instigate and film fights, posting them on social media. The toll on mental health and concentration has been devastating.
Unfortunately, efforts to limit smartphone use in schools have fallen short. Policies are often unclear, inconsistently applied, or resisted by parents who demand to be in constant contact with their kids. In some schools, teachers set their own classroom rules, creating a confusing patchwork of directives within the same building. In others, lax enforcement renders even well-intentioned policies toothless. That’s not for want of support: teachers and their unions have been vocal about their preference for clear guidance from school districts or state leaders.
Models for successful policy are out there. States such as Florida, Indiana, and Louisiana have enacted bans. California and Minnesota have passed laws requiring districts to adopt a policy to limit smartphone use by a certain date.
Where such bans are enforced, the results are promising. Take Orange County, Florida. The district’s ban on smartphone use throughout the school day—including during lunch, recess, and class transitions—proved transformational. One high school experienced a wave of confiscations, but students quickly learned that administrators took enforcement seriously and complied. Bullying and disruptions declined, and students reconnected with their peers in the real world. “It has helped people be who they are—instead of who they are online—in school,” said one senior.
To help states enact similar policies, we’ve developed a model framework. States should compel districts to require that students store phones in lockers, hand them over to school staff, or keep them powered off in their backpacks during school hours and activities. Enforcing these rules should be straightforward, with escalating consequences for violations: verbal warnings, confiscations, parental meetings, and, in the worst cases, suspensions. Parents’ concerns about emergencies or medical needs can be addressed by allowing basic “dumb” cellphones for urgent contact, or by granting specific health exceptions.
Smartphones have robbed students of their focus, potential, and the chance to learn and grow in a less stressful environment. It’s time to restore schools as spaces of connection and creativity. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Photo by Valerie Plesch for The Washington Post via Getty Images