After years of flip-flopping opinion on screen usage in schools, a vast majority of American voters want to ban cellphones in the classroom.
New polls suggest policies to limit or ban phones during class are gaining in popularity as states move to implement various levels of restrictions.
A poll from Napolitan News Service released Tuesday found that two-thirds (67%) of voters would support “banning cellphones in schools.” The Pew Research Center found that an even higher number (74%) would support “banning middle and high school students from using cellphones during class.”
Napolitan found greater support among men than women for a cellphone ban. Seventy percent of men either “strongly favor” or “somewhat favor” the ban, compared to 65% of women. Women were also more supportive of keeping phones in the classroom for emergency purposes than men (58% to 54%, respectively).
Older age groups were significantly more supportive of a cellphone ban than younger generations. Among voters 65 and up, an overwhelming 86% approved of the ban. Of those ages 18-34, however, under half (43%) were supportive.
The Pew Research Center, which surveyed American adults while Napolitan surveyed registered voters only, polled from July 9 to 15, and found that over 6 in 10 Americans believe an all-day ban of cellphones would improve students’ social skills, grades, and behavior in class. Pew respondents were more split on the question of student physical safety. Just under 4 in 10 (37%) believed physical safety would improve with a phone ban.
Napolitan’s polling showed that emergency situations were a high concern for voters. Though overall approval for a cellphone ban stood at 67%, when asked a question that specifically mentioned an “emergency situation,” 56% of voters approved of allowing phones in the classroom.
When asked who should make the decisions about cellphone bans in schools, most respondents to the Napolitan poll (30%) favored local school boards. Only 13% believed parents and 27% believed government should make the decision.
Florida was the first state to regulate school phone use in 2023, according to The Associated Press. Education Week reported Monday that 31 states “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.”
The Napolitan News Service conducted a poll of 1,000 registered voters on July 16. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
