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 | Corrected: March 05, 2026 | Updated: March 20, 2026 1 min read

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Corrected: This page previously included New Mexico as a state requiring school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in school. The number of states has been updated.

The iPhone debuted 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 36 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools, according to an Education Week tally. Some other states are either incentivizing or recommending local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies.

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.