Fresh polling from Morning Consult shows that nearly two-thirds of parents (63%) feel their child should be allowed to have their cell phone at school, but only one-third of parents feel their child should be allowed to have their cell phone in the classroom.
The distinction underscores the tricky needle district leaders are trying to thread in establishing cell phone bans, which currently aren’t satisfying parents, students or educators.
I spent 37 years as a district superintendent in Kansas and Nebraska—the last 12 in Lincoln. I don’t envy school leaders trying to navigate this thorny issue. When I retired, it was already becoming one of the biggest headaches we dealt with.
Unsurprisingly, as students commit an increasing amount of time on social media and other streaming apps—to the detriment of their academics and their mental health—I’ve watched state and district leaders struggle to implement policies designed to limit their use during the school day.
As it stands, at least 22 states and the District of Columbia have completely banned the use of wireless communications devices, including cell phones and tablets. Another 16 have enacted partial bans or allow districts to adopt their own policies.
The policies being adopted run the gamut, from locking away phones in lockable pouches, to requiring that they stay in backpacks to asking teachers to put them in a plastic bin at the start of each class. It’s a messy system with shades of gray that allows for use in emergency situations or for academic instructional purposes.
The plans are satisfying no one: Parents have real concerns about how they would reach their child in the event of an emergency; teachers aren’t happy about their new role as the phone police; and students, beyond being annoyed by bell-to-bell bans that mean missing out on important news like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement, don’t gain anything when technology is taken away from them instead of modeled responsibly for them.
Let’s be realistic
District leaders need a better solution—a way that allows students to keep their phones but blocks their access to the most distracting apps so that when it comes time for instructional learning, their brains are online in the right place; a type of airplane mode for schools that blocks the most distracting elements of the device.
In the early 2000s, when airlines first began requiring passengers to turn off their cell phones, there was general acceptance due to logical safety reasoning—even if it caused mild annoyance as mobile phones were becoming essential for coordinating pickups and last-minute business communication. The reaction predictably shifted as the technology evolved.
Not even a decade later, smartphones made the rule feel much more restrictive—no email, music streaming, or apps. Celebration ensued in 2013, when the Federal Aviation Administration permitted gate-to-gate use of mobile devices, so long as they were in airplane mode.
Today, schools are trying to navigate a similar dynamic.
Despite growing efforts to prevent use of phones, digital distraction in schools remains a daily challenge. Teachers and administrators report ongoing disruptions from student phone use—even in schools with phone bans.
Recent studies suggest students spend over 90 minutes per school day on their phones, with 95% of that time spent on social media, gaming, and algorithm-driven entertainment apps. Over the course of a 180-day school year, that equates to one month of class time lost.
Abstinence-based programs have never been successful. They’re unrealistic. This shouldn’t be about locking away phones and pretending they don’t exist.
Adapting airplane mode to K12
Schools should instead look at how the FAA charted a path to passenger tolerance and acceptance of its in-air safety rules and consider the value of an airplane mode for schools.
What if, instead of taking the phones away from students, locking them in pouches or turning teachers into the phone police, we remove access to the most disruptive features and apps?
Think about it: We put our phones into airplane mode before take-off to prevent cellular signals from interfering with the aircraft’s sensitive navigation and communication systems. While modern aircraft are more robust, the collective signal from numerous phones can create distracting interference, especially during takeoff and landing when communication is most critical.
The metaphor practically writes itself. Students are overrun with notifications for messages, tags and likes on social media and other platforms, leading to frequent checking, emotional reactivity, and difficulty returning to academic tasks.
Beyond academics, the constant exposure is also linked to increased cyberbullying, anxiety, self-isolation, and missed opportunities for social-emotional growth. Students need an airplane mode to silence the loudest of the interference at school.
A handful of districts are beginning to experiment with The Commons, a solution that relies on a geofencing mechanism that turns a “School Mode” on automatically when a student arrives at school. No handing over phones, locking them in pouches, scanning devices or any other extra steps required.
Students get to keep their phones, but distracting apps are quietly blocked during school hours making it easier for them to keep their phones away
I salute those trying to enforce bell-to-bell policies to meet state mandates. But bans risk creating an environment of sides, when we should be focused on cultivating an environment that helps students learn when it’s appropriate—or maybe even helpful—to use their devices, and when it’s plain disruptive.
