School-age children have never known a time without cellphones. And they increasingly can鈥檛 imagine being without theirs鈥攅ven at school.
Cellphones have fast become the single largest distraction in classrooms across the nation, causing a growing number of education leaders and policymakers to consider or enact policies limiting their access during the school day.
Most of those policies stop short of total cellphone bans in schools. Among the policies recently implemented at the state level, some 鈥渟trongly encourage鈥� limitations on cellphone use, while others limit bans to instructional time only. Some leave it up to districts to decide. Such policies don鈥檛 go far enough, argues the nonprofit advocacy group .
Parents Sabine Polak, Mileva Repasky, and Kimberly Whitman co-founded the organization and recently partnered with national nonprofit to push for total cellphone bans at K-12 schools. Drawing on from pediatric health and media experts and interviews with dozens of school administrators, Phone-Free 69传媒 Movement this week launched a free online designed to guide school administrators in designing effective cellphone-free policies.
In an interview with Education Week, Whitman shared why she and the Phone-Free 69传媒 Movement鈥檚 co-founders felt compelled to form the organization, what they learned from administrators they interviewed while developing the cellphone-policy tool kit, and why she鈥檚 adamant that such policies need to be in place 鈥渇rom the first bell to the last bell.鈥�
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did the Phone-Free 69传媒 Movement come about?
Sabine, Mileva, and I met through Fairplay鈥檚 Screen Time Action Network, where we are all members of the Screens in 69传媒 work group. With our combined experience as parents of eight children ages 7 to 17, we were witnessing firsthand the negative impacts of phones on them and their friends, especially the distractions and harms during the school day.
When our school districts were unwilling to address the concerns, we decided to advocate at a national level. After a year of researching the impacts of phones in schools, speaking with school administrators, and connecting with experts and other nonprofits, we established the Phone-Free 69传媒 Movement in 2023.
Who have been your organization鈥檚 biggest champions, and how have they shown their support?
Both parents and teachers have reached out to us eager to support our campaign, which led to the development of our . Today, we have over 80 ambassadors across the U.S., with some in Canada and other countries as well. As PFSM ambassadors, they advocate for all-day phone-free policies in their areas and provide local school districts with PFSM resources to support the transition to phone-free schools.
Your nonprofit just released a phone-free school tool kit for administrators. Why?
Through our conversations with administrators, we discovered a significant disconnect between schools hesitant to implement all-day phone-free policies and schools with successful policies already in place. Many administrators without such policies feared parent pushback, while those who had implemented all-day phone-free policies reported minimal parent resistance.
Recognizing this, we saw the need to develop a clear road map to help administrators execute successful policies.
Who did you speak with to inform the tool kit?
We spoke primarily with principals, as well as teachers and parents, because phone-free policies were typically school-based rather than districtwide; this necessitated direct conversations with individual school principals.
Additionally, we also reached out to state and federal legislators, the U.S. Department of Education, the surgeon general鈥檚 office, experts like Jonathan Haidt (who is now on our advisory board), and other nonprofits in this space.
What did administrators share about challenges to implementing cellphone policies?
Some administrators expressed fear of parent pushback. But administrators with phone-free policies in place reported minimal resistance from parents鈥攊n fact, they found that the majority of parents were highly supportive of these policies.
Additionally, some districts mentioned that they lacked funds for purchasing Yondr or other phone lockers. These are critical to cellphone policies, but they do have a cost associated with them. More economical options include alphabetized manilla envelopes or labeled pencil pouches stored in baskets.
What were your biggest takeaways about effective cellphone policies?
Administrators with effective policies highlighted three critical elements for successfully eliminating cellphones from schools: transparent communication, a rock-solid policy, and consistent enforcement by teachers and staff.
The school must be transparent with stakeholders about why there is a need for a phone-free policy and the research behind it. Having these conversations early on is very effective in bringing everyone on board. We recommend two months of planning prior to implementing the policy. During this time, it is important to host informational meetings for all the stakeholders鈥攕taff, parents, and students鈥攖hat allow them to ask questions and understand the necessity of an all-day phone-free policy.
[A rock-solid] policy extends from the first bell to the last bell鈥攖he entire school day. So, during the school day, students鈥� phones and other personal electronic devices such as smartwatches, Airpods, etc., must be locked away. Research indicates that phones can鈥檛 be on the person for the policy to be effective. 69传媒 can鈥檛 resist the urge to check the continual notifications they receive when the phone is in their pocket or backpack.
The policy needs to be building-wide; teachers need administrator support. It鈥檚 impossible for teachers to win the battle in the classroom when they are policing it on their own. All teachers must enforce the policy, or it breaks down and is ineffective. Finally, consequences to policy breaches must include removal of the student鈥檚 phone.
Any other takeaways for schools seeking to implement effective cellphone policies?
Some schools have purchased Jonathan Haidt鈥檚 book The Anxious Generation for their entire staff. That allows teachers to understand the research and the 鈥渨hy鈥� behind implementing a policy.
We have also discovered that schools with bell-to-bell phone-free policies have improved teacher retention.
How satisfied are you with the progress schools are making toward implementing successful cellphone policies?
The progress some schools and districts are making in implementing cellphone policies shows a growing recognition of the issue. But there鈥檚 still a long way to go. Many policies are inconsistent and only partially enforced, which diminishes their effectiveness. For true success, we need widespread adoption of comprehensive, all-day phone-free policies, supported by thorough communication and consistent enforcement. Only then can we fully address the impact of cellphones on academic learning and social development.
What more needs to happen to meet this goal?
Federal legislation, like the proposed by Sens. Tom Cotton, [a Republican], and Tim Kaine, [a Democrat], would significantly advance this cause. Also, Congress must pass the Kids Online Safety Act as well as endorse the surgeon general鈥檚 call for warning labels on [social media platforms].
Lastly, those concerned about children鈥檚 mental health could frame and fund phone-free school policies as an upstream prevention tool. Every child deserves a safe school environment.
Explore our coverage around students鈥� use of cellphones in schools:
> Guide to setting a policy: Here鈥檚 a decisionmaking tool for educators to map out the different potential outcomes when putting cellphone policies in play.
> Cellphone bans and restrictions: See which states are requiring cellphone restrictions or bans in schools in our tracker. Explore our tracker.
> Nuisance or teaching tool? How teachers are turning an ubiquitous and growing class nuisance鈥攖he smartphone鈥攊nto a tool for learning.
> Cellphone policies, explained: Education Week breaks down the different ways schools are addressing cellphone use, and the factors to weigh before adopting or changing the rules. Check out our explainer.
> Tips from teens & teachers: Teenagers offer 6 tips on how schools should manage students鈥� cellphone use, and educators share their tips on policing cellphone use in classrooms.
> Then & now: How the 鈥渟exting鈥� panic previewed today鈥檚 debate about kids鈥� cellphone use.
