Purpose

This Impact Brief examines existing evidence on smartphone restrictions and considers the potential effects of Oklahoma’s new law.

 

Prevalence of Smartphone Use in Schools

 

Students’ use of personal smartphones for non-instructional purposes during school hours has become highly prevalent.

 

• In analysis of smartphone use during school hours, researchers found that 97% of students (ages 11-17) used their smartphones for an average of 43 minutes a school day with social media, gaming, and video streaming accounting for most of this time.[iv] 

 

• Another study found that students ages 12–18 spent an average of 1.5 hours on their smartphones during the school day. Approximately 25% of students in the study were found to have spent more than two hours on their smartphones during school hours.[v]

 

Evidence on Smartphone Use in Schools

 

While some argue that smartphones can be valuable learning tools, their potential benefits are often outweighed by significant disadvantages.[vi]

Academic Performance. Research generally finds that smartphone bans are associated with improved test scores, grade-point averages, and attendance.[vii] The underlying reason for these improvements is that students are less likely to be distracted by device notifications, social media, and online games during instructional time when schools prohibit personal smartphones.[viii]

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Behavioral Issues

By prohibiting smartphones in schools, classroom teachers encounter fewer distractions, resulting in a more productive learning environment.[ix] Smartphone restrictions have also been linked to reductions in cyberbullying

 

Student Wellbeing

Studies have found that restricting smartphones encourages students to interact with their peers more, which can lead to enhanced social skills and relationships.[x] Most existing evidence indicates that banning smartphones in schools supports mental, emotional, and social wellbeing among students.[xi]

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Support for Banning Smartphones

• National polls report that 68% of US adults favor banning smartphones during class for both middle and high school students with 65% of parents supporting such restrictions.[xii] 

• In Oklahoma, statewide polling data show that 60% of Oklahomans support bans on smartphones in classrooms with 53% of parents favoring a smartphone ban.

 

Oklahoma’s Smartphone Restrictions  

Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 139 requires schools to create a bell-to-bell ban on personal electronic devices for the 2025-26 school year. In the new law, “personal electronic devices” include smartphones, smart watches, smart headphones, laptops, tablets, and smart glasses but exclude school-issued devices that are designed for classroom instruction. One important component of the law is that its smartphone mandate becomes optional during the 2026-27 school year. State legislators will likely have to revisit this issue during the 2026 legislative session. Finally, while smartphone bans appear to be beneficial, their effectiveness is contingent on how well school personnel enforce restrictions during school hours.

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