Last week, the Los Angeles Unified School District took a big, common-sense step: it voted to ban student cell phone use during school days.
Other districts are expected to follow suit, starting with the nation’s largest, New York.
Twenty years ago, our government banned cell phones in all public schools, despite the storm of protest it generated.
This ban was one of many policy changes that allowed us to transform the school system in ways that dramatically increased student achievement levels.
Although this measure was reversed by our successor, public support for the cell phone ban has grown nationally – and across party lines.
Educators know all too well how phones disrupt learning: 72% of high school teachers nationwide call phones a “major problem.”
It’s no wonder: one study found that 97% of teens use their phones during school hours, receiving an average of 237 push notifications per day.
Much of that screen time involves playing video games, browsing social media, and watching pornography — which isn’t exactly the three R’s.
Unsurprisingly, this can have devastating effects on learning.
Much evidence links increased phone use to impaired academic outcomes, including lower test scores, lower grades, reduced long-term retention, and larger achievement gaps.
Phone anxiety is widespread: one study found that students glued to their screens can create a cascade of distraction among their peers, while another found that “mere proximity” to a mobile device is enough to prevent concentration.
Phones in classrooms can also contribute to serious harm outside of school.
Growing evidence suggests a link between increased smartphone and social media use and threats to young people’s brains, including higher risk of depression, poorer cognitive control, chronic sleep deprivation and poorer socio-emotional functioning.
A recent advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that social media creates a “profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”
Even if the data is not conclusive, ignoring it would be foolish.
About three-quarters of U.S. schools say they ban phone use for non-academic reasons, but without a complete ban — including flip phones that allow texting — students easily evade the rules.
Additionally, many schools allow exceptions which may vary from class to class.
Such policies are difficult to enforce, place inordinate burdens on teachers, and often leave students equally distracted as their phones buzz and beep in their backpacks all day.
District-wide bans, applied uniformly throughout the school day, including lunch and recess, are far more likely to be effective.
Studies suggest that banning cell phones can do a lot of good, as we’ve seen in New York.
Analyzes of past bans in Europe have found increased grades and test scores, decreased harassment, and narrowed achievement gaps.
This won’t surprise high school teachers here.
A proposed bill in Congress, the Focus on Learning Act, would provide money to study the issue, solicit feedback from parents and help schools pay for phone lockers and other equipment.
It deserves support, but districts and states should not wait for its passage.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has expressed support for a statewide ban, as has New York Governor Hochul.
They should act quickly and other governors should join them – but in the meantime, individual districts should act on their own.
In New York, where cell phone policies vary from school to school, Mayor Adams can help lead the way toward a comprehensive, uniform ban.
Of course, some children and parents will complain and argue. My advice to elected officials and school boards is simple: don’t believe it. There are too many things at stake.
It’s encouraging that more elected leaders are finally recognizing what teachers have known for years: Cell phones are a problem kids can’t handle.
Let us do the students the great service of getting rid of this problem.
Michael R. Bloomberg served as mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013. Adapted from Bloomberg.com.
New York Post
