Ed-Tech Policy Tracker

Which States Ban or Restrict Cellphones in Schools?

A look at statewide laws and policies on cellphones in schools
By Arianna Prothero, Lauraine Langreo & Alyson Klein — June 28, 2024 | Updated: January 17, 2025 1 min read
Animated image of a student using a cellphone in class.
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The iPhone debuted 17 years ago on June 29, 2007, launching the modern smartphone era that virtually every current K-12 student has been born into.

But students’ access to their devices during the school day stands to be dramatically curtailed. A growing wave of education leaders and policymakers are adopting new cellphone policies, with the debate swinging decidedly in favor of tighter restrictions. Limiting access, they argue, will benefit students’ mental health and learning.

At least 19 states have laws or policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies, according to an Education Week analysis.   

As the debate over cellphones in schools continues, Education Week is tracking state-level legislation and policies that aim to limit students' access to the devices during the school day.


Cellphone Laws & Policies

Follow this tracker to see what’s happening at the state level.

Active state policies on cellphones at-a-glance

State policy details


Resources

Dive deep into the debate on cellphones in K-12 schools—bans, restrictions, classroom learning tools, and more.
052124 Cell Phones jb BS
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Photograph of a white teen using a cellphone in the classroom.
iStock/Getty
Image of a cellphone being erased by a pencil.
Kotryna Zukauskaite for Education Week
A drowning hand reaching out of a cellphone for help
iStock/Getty
A cell phone sits on a student's desk during a 9th grade honors English class at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024.
A cellphone sits on a student's desk during a 9th grade honors English class at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024. The policies that districts and schools use to manage the use of cellphones during the school day vary widely.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy 6 Ways Schools Are Managing Students’ Cellphone Use
Lauraine Langreo, April 25, 2024
5 min read

Image of cellphones.
RyanJLane/iStock/Getty
Read More
Learn more about cellphones in K-12 schools—whether they are being banned, used as instructional tools, or something in between.
April 16, 2024

Contact Information

For media or research inquiries about this table and data or to contribute information, contact library@educationweek.org.

How to Cite This Page

Which States Ban or Restrict Cellphones in Schools? (2024, June 28). Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from https://www.edweek.org/technology/which-states-ban-or-restrict-cellphones-in-schools/2024/06

Laura Baker, Creative Director and Lynn (Yunfei) Liu, Digital News Specialist contributed to this article.

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