For the first time in the smartphone era, most K-12 students will start the school year in a state that has a policy restricting cellphones in school on the books.
A wave of bills passed into law this year, and now 31 states either already limit or ban students from using their personal devices in school or plan to do so for the 2025-26 or 2026-27 school years.
This moment marks a major shift from this time last year, when barely a handful of states had initiated laws to curb students’ use of their personal electronic devices on school grounds.