Banning use of smartphones in schools is a hotly debated educational policy topic nationally and internationally as we enter 2026. The issue is fueled by the excess use of smartphones during school hours by adolescent students.
Two newly published studies shed further light on the topic, which may provide educators with more data on public opinion about smartphone bans in schools and just how much time students are on their smartphones. Currently, 31 U.S. states have some type of smartphone ban policy in schools.
In a Research Letter published in JAMA Pediatrics, senior author Lauren Hale, a professor in the Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine, and in the Program of Public Health at Stony Brook University, and her colleagues highlight an international survey of parents on the topic of smartphone use in schools.
Read more at Stony Brook Medicine News.
