Should Cell Phones Be Allowed at School?

Schools around the country are starting to send tough messages when it comes to students’ cell phones. A high school in Crawford County, Missouri, for instance, banned all cell phones and smartwatches last spring. And a middle school in Torrington, Connecticut, recently set a policy requiring that every phone be locked in a special pouch during school hours.

Such policies serve a purpose. Many teachers and administrators say students misuse their phones during classes, such as by texting, posting on social media, or cheating on tests. Even sneaking quick peeks at a device during class can derail a student’s focus from a lesson, educators point out.

School bans on cell phones, however, are often met with objections. Many students argue that the devices help them stay organized in class and let them reach their families in case of emergencies. And some teachers say that phones, when used properly, can make lessons more interactive and fun.

Consider the pros and cons of students having access to phones during the school day. Then decide for yourself.

Phones can be fun, but that’s not the main reason students want access to them at school. The multipurpose gadgets serve as calculator, dictionary, clock, fact-checker, note-taker, and schedule-maker all rolled into one.

Emma Ceglia, a middle school student from Granby, Connecticut, says she and her classmates should be able to take advantage of those and other useful features in class—even for something as basic as checking the time. “You can’t see a clock from where we sit,” she says.

The devices can also get students interested in classwork, some teachers say. Stevie Frank, a middle school teacher in Whitestown, Indiana, creates short videos that students can view on their phones for extra help during some class assignments.

“Kids speak the language of cell phones, the language of technology,” Frank explains. “We need to figure out ways of meeting them where they’re at.”

Access to phones is also a matter of safety, says middle school student Jackson Gupta. This past spring, his school in Plano, Texas, went into lockdown after reports of a potentially dangerous situation. It turned out to be a false alarm, but the scare showed him the importance of kids and parents being able to reach each other in emergencies.

Still, there are definite downsides to having phones at school, Jackson admits. “Like kids cheating or playing games or losing focus in class,” he says. After all, the urge to sneak-text a few emojis to a friend while using a phone’s calculator app in math class can be hard to resist.

Some students also use phones in ways that invade other people’s privacy, such as recording classmates or teachers without permission, then posting the content on social media.

“When we deal with issues at school, half the time it’s related to something that somebody posted on Snapchat or TikTok or Twitter,” says Trevor Goertzen, a middle school principal in Spring Hill, Kansas. “It’s a constant battle.”

Many educators also point out that allowing phone use in class can give some students an unfair advantage. They stress the importance of tech equity—of all students having the same access to technology. And not every student has a phone.

“What about the kid who can’t afford a phone?” says Goertzen. “He just doesn’t get to learn then? I’m not OK with that.”