Education Week reports 31 states have policies that either limit or outright ban cellphone use in schools that are in effect this year, or will be by 2027. Kansas is not included in that number.
While some states, like Kansas, still allow districts to determine their own student cellphone policies, the majority have enacted statewide policies or require districts to adopt policies that limit cellphone use, including Smartwatches and Bluetooth-capable messaging devices.
The state policies vary as widely as the geographical areas of the country from which they are developed.
- Four states—Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Utah—have a single, statewide policy for restricting cellphones that all schools must follow.
- Kentucky allows students to use cellphones for educational purposes or in cases of emergencies.
- Georgia requires its schools to store or lock up devices during the school day and establish procedures for communicating with parents in cases of emergencies.
- Vermont includes private schools in its state cellphone regulations.
- Rhode Island’s law incorporates language recommended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to protect students’ privacy; school employees are not allowed to search students’ phones while storing them.
- North Carolina requires its schools to teach digital literacy in addition to requiring students to turn their phones off during the school day.
- A number of states require their departments of education to create model policies for districts and gather data on the effectiveness of the policies.
A Pew Research poll shows increasing support for bans in schools. Support for bans during class rose from 68% last year to 74% now. Support is split for banning cellphones during the entire school day, with 44% in support and 46% opposed.
Research on the effectiveness of cellphone bans is emerging and mixed, largely because these policies are so new that there hasn’t been much time to study them in a systematic way.
The Kansas House Education Committee in 2024 considered HB 2641, which would have prohibited electronic communication devices during school hours, but the bill died in committee and was not reintroduced in 2025.
