Full school day cellphone bans are more popular than ever

PolicyClosePolicyPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All PolicyNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsPoliticsClosePoliticsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All PoliticsFull school day cellphone bans are more popular than everMost adults across age groups support an in-class ban.Most adults across age groups support an in-class ban.by Lauren FeinerCloseLauren FeinerSenior Policy ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Lauren FeinerJul 29, 2026, 4:42 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: The VergeLauren FeinerCloseLauren FeinerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Lauren Feiner is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform.As schools across the country continue to implement cellphone bans, a new Pew Research Center survey shows they continue to gain support.Seventy-seven percent of US adults support banning cellphones in middle and high school classes, and 48 percent support banning them for the entire school day. That’s the first time more Americans have supported, rather than opposed, so-called bell-to-bell bans. Two years ago, just 36 percent of American adults supported an all day ban.Across all age groups over 18 that were surveyed, most respondents support in-class bans. That support is lower but still at least half for all-day bans across most age groups, except for ages 18-29, where support for a bell-to-bell ban drops to just 28 percent. Republicans were slightly more likely to favor both in-class and all-day bans, at 81 percent and 55 percent, respectively. But Democrats were also broadly supportive of in-class bans at 74 percent, and all-day bans at 44 percent.More than 20 states havre already adopted bell-to-bell cellphone bans, and early studies show mixed impacts. One report found positive long-term effects on students’ well-being, but no evidence of an impact on test scores. Another found higher suspension rates in the first year of a ban, that later returned to normal levels, and a decrease in unexcused absences.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Lauren FeinerCloseLauren FeinerSenior Policy ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Lauren FeinerNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsPolicyClosePolicyPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All PolicyPoliticsClosePoliticsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All PoliticsRegulationCloseRegulationPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All RegulationMost PopularMost PopularThe US government just banned RoombasIs it illegal to trick the US government into wiping your phone during a questionably legal search?Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels like the futureWhat’s the catch with the Apple Upgrade program?OpenAI’s rogue AI agent didn’t stop at hacking Hugging FaceThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad