Research indicates that removing phones from the entire school day yields much more substantial improvements in academic performance than only barring them from the classroom. For a school phone policy to be most effective, it must be a comprehensive ban and be diligently enforced with consequences.
This memo will give an overview of how a bell-to-bell no-phone policy can work and explain the critical factors for successful implementation, highlighting various state and local policies as examples. Smartphones have held American children captive long enough. Schools can be a critical part of the solution for freeing children from the addictive design of these devices and the harmful social environment they create.
