What are the rules around mobile phones in schools, and could Queensland bring about a blanket ban?
1 year, 11 months ago

What are the rules around mobile phones in schools, and could Queensland bring about a blanket ban?

ABC  

Kids can check their phones up to 100 times a day — but making schools phone-free could cut the time they spend on them by 20 per cent, according to research. There's no national policy, so every state and territory besides Queensland has their own rules for phones in state schools, and three states have blanket bans at government-run schools. This week Education Minister Grace Grace tasked former children's commissioner Cheryl Vardon with leading a review into technology use, including phones and smart watches, in schools. "Many schools have taken the decision to ban mobile phones, and they have been fully supported to do so," Ms Grace told Parliament on Thursday. "We're seeing predatory behaviour happening regretfully and very sadly under the watchful gaze of parents, so it's got to be a heightened risk in a school environment where you've got so many more children and teachers have other duties to perform," Professor Rouse, who is also a detective inspector with Queensland Police, said.

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History of this topic

UK Government blocks Conservative Party's attempt to ban mobile phones in school
2 weeks, 1 day ago

UK Government blocks Conservative Party's attempt to ban mobile phones in school

Hindustan Times  

The Government has blocked an attempt by the Conservative Party to ban children from having mobile phones in school. Conservative shadow education minister Neil O’Brien said children are suffering from back problems often seen in middle-aged people because of phone use, and said they were being exposed to violent pornography. The shift to smartphone-based childhood is also leading children to …

Phone bans sweep US schools despite skepticism
3 weeks, 3 days ago

Phone bans sweep US schools despite skepticism

Raw Story  

At a red-brick school in Virginia, Hayden Jones is one of 1,000 students banned from using their phones as part of a trial hoping to boost learning. That's a big concern for me," he said, adding that some pupils have found ways to still use their devices -- including by bringing a "dummy phone" to put in the pouch. - …

Complete ban on school students using smartphones undesirable: Delhi HC
4 weeks, 1 day ago

Complete ban on school students using smartphones undesirable: Delhi HC

Hindustan Times  

The Delhi High Court recently said a complete ban on the use of smartphones by school students was an "undesirable and unworkable" approach and it should be regulated and monitored. The students, the court said, must also be counselled that high levels of screen-time and social media engagement could lead to anxiety, diminished attention spans and cyber-bullying. "Much has changed …

Denmark to ban mobile phones, tablets in schools and after-school clubs for children aged 7 to 17
4 weeks, 1 day ago

Denmark to ban mobile phones, tablets in schools and after-school clubs for children aged 7 to 17

Live Mint  

Denmark is set to ban mobile phones in schools and after-school clubs based on a recommendation of a government commission. The proposed law will prohibit mobile phones during lessons and breaks at primary and lower secondary schools, affecting children aged 7 to 17. "It risks destroying their self-esteem.” Denmark's Wellbeing Commission’s Findings The commission’s research revealed that 94 per cent …

Delhi HC calls total ban on students using mobile phones in schools unworkable
4 weeks, 2 days ago

Delhi HC calls total ban on students using mobile phones in schools unworkable

Hindustan Times  

A complete ban on students using mobile phones in schools is “undesirable and unworkable”, the Delhi high court has said, emphasising the need for a balanced approach in regulating the use. “Without detracting from deleterious and harmful effects that arise from the indiscriminate use and misuse of smartphones in schools, this court is of the view that smartphones also serve …

Results of student phone ban released
4 weeks, 2 days ago

Results of student phone ban released

ABC  

Andy Park: In recent years, education departments have moved to ban mobile phones in school settings across the country. A 12-month review of the school phone ban in South Australia shows a close to 60 per cent drop in social media related problems and a nearly 40 per cent decrease in behaviour issues linked to devices. Luke Radford: Victorian high …

Parents calling for phone bans in schools to improve their youngsters' classroom behaviour
1 month ago

Parents calling for phone bans in schools to improve their youngsters' classroom behaviour

Daily Mail  

The vast majority of parents support phones being banned in schools and think it is the answer to curbing bad classroom behaviour, according to new research. Parents even ranked a total ban on phones ahead of imposing stricter classroom rules or reducing class sizes to improve behaviour. Two thirds of the teachers said they had to respond to pupils using …

79 Nations banned smartphones in schools amid learning concerns
1 month, 1 week ago

79 Nations banned smartphones in schools amid learning concerns

India Today  

A total of 79 education systems globally opted for a ban on smartphones in schools as nations persist in debating how they affect teaching and student privacy, according to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring team. 60 education systems - 30 percent of the entire registered globally had implemented bans on smartphones through different policies and legislation in favour of keeping …

No major hitches on Day 1 without cellphones in L.A. Unified schools
1 month, 2 weeks ago

No major hitches on Day 1 without cellphones in L.A. Unified schools

LA Times  

Students at some schools in L.A. are storing their phones in magnetic pouches made by the Yondr company to comply with a new cellphone ban in Los Angeles Unified. A cellphone ban — covering some 800 schools — took effect Tuesday in the Los Angeles Unified School District, eliciting a mix of reactions but no reports of major problems. “I …

Brazil introduces law restricting smartphone use in schools amid concern over the impact on learning
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Brazil introduces law restricting smartphone use in schools amid concern over the impact on learning

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Brazilian students returned to class …

Mobile phone bans in schools not linked to grades or behavior of kids, says study
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Mobile phone bans in schools not linked to grades or behavior of kids, says study

Firstpost  

The study’s lead author, Dr Victoria Goodyear, told BBC, that the findings were not “against the ban of smartphones in schools but “what we’re suggesting is that those bans in isolation are not enough to tackle the negative impacts” Banning smartphones in schools has no real impact on improving grades and behaviours among students, a new study has found. The …

Banning cellphones in schools gains popularity in red and blue states
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Banning cellphones in schools gains popularity in red and blue states

Associated Press  

— Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their effects on young people’s lives, has said schools need to provide phone-free times. Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone Free Schools Movement, said the issue is catching on because parents and teachers in both red and …

Democrat, Republican states unite in seeking mobile phone ban in US schools
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Democrat, Republican states unite in seeking mobile phone ban in US schools

India Today  

Sarah Huckabee Sanders and California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom have little in common ideologically, but the two have both been vocal supporters of an idea that’s been rapidly gaining bipartisan ground in the states: Students’ cellphones need to be banned during the school day. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has called on Congress to require warning labels on social …

Classroom cellphone bans gain bipartisan momentum across US states
Top News
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Classroom cellphone bans gain bipartisan momentum across US states

India Today  

LITTLE ROCK: Arkansas’ Republican Gov. The push for cellphone bans has been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children’s mental health and complaints from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their effects …

New Brazil law restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools
2 months, 2 weeks ago

New Brazil law restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools

Live Mint  

SAO PAULO — Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations. A survey released in October by Brazilian pollster Datafolha said that almost two-thirds of respondents supported banning the use of smartphones by children and teenagers at schools. “There's still a lot …

New Brazil law restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools
2 months, 2 weeks ago

New Brazil law restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools

Associated Press  

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations. “We cannot allow humanism to be replaced by algorithms,” Lula said in a closed ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital, Brasilia, adding that the bill “acknowledges the work of …

Brazil restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Brazil restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools

CNN  

AP — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations. A survey released in October by Brazilian pollster Datafolha said that almost two-thirds of respondents supported banning the use of smartphones by children and teenagers at schools. “There’s still a lot of …

Gujarat govt to issue guidelines to limit children's use of smartphones and social media
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Gujarat govt to issue guidelines to limit children's use of smartphones and social media

India TV News  

In response to the growing concern over the increased use of smartphones and social media among children, the Gujarat government has announced plans to issue guidelines aimed at reducing the negative impact of excessive screen time on students. The state's education minister, Praful Pansheriya, confirmed on Thursday that the guidelines would focus on limiting the use of mobile phones and …

Confiscation. Calls home. Sealed pouches. Why schools struggle to ban cellphones
4 months ago

Confiscation. Calls home. Sealed pouches. Why schools struggle to ban cellphones

LA Times  

Angelica Zamora-Reyes, a senior at Downtown Magnets High School, works on her smartphone at her home in Los Angeles in July. “That’s why rules limiting phone usage in a consistent manner for all in a given setting like schools are more likely to be effective than individual approaches by individual parents, or even individual teachers.” It also may be easier …

Just 18% of teachers think phone ban would improve pupil behaviour – poll
4 months ago

Just 18% of teachers think phone ban would improve pupil behaviour – poll

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Views are clearly mixed about whether mobile phones can be used as learning tools in …

In this Florida school district, some parents are pushing back against a cell phone ban
4 months, 3 weeks ago

In this Florida school district, some parents are pushing back against a cell phone ban

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Since the beginning of the 2024 …

In this Florida school district, some parents are pushing back against a cellphone ban
4 months, 3 weeks ago

In this Florida school district, some parents are pushing back against a cellphone ban

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It’s no surprise that students are pushing back on cellphone bans in classrooms. But a survey sent out by the South Florida school district earlier this fall found that of the more than 70,000 students, teachers and parents surveyed, nearly one in five parents believe the cellphone ban is having a negative impact on their student’s wellbeing. …

UK Considers New Smartphone Bans for Children
5 months, 1 week ago

UK Considers New Smartphone Bans for Children

Wired  

The UK parliament is considering clamping down on how young people use smartphones. A bill brought forward by a Labour member of parliament proposes both banning phones in schools and raising the age at which children can consent to social media companies using their data. Experts on the impact of digital technologies argue that the legislation could end up shutting …

Banning kids from using smartphones? Yeah, right!
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Banning kids from using smartphones? Yeah, right!

The Independent  

The debate around kids and smartphones has been rumbling on for about as long as they have been in existence. But this so-called Smartphone Free Childhood “pact” currently gaining momentum online – with campaigners urging education secretary Bridget Phillipson to take action to curb the use of smartphones in schools – has particularly irked me. This was especially true for …

Bridget Phillipson urged to take immediate action to curb use of smartphones in schools until age 16
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Bridget Phillipson urged to take immediate action to curb use of smartphones in schools until age 16

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In an open letter to the education secretary, 30 education …

Student phone access in California school districts will be restricted under new laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom making state the latest to limit cell phones in classrooms
6 months, 1 week ago

Student phone access in California school districts will be restricted under new laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom making state the latest to limit cell phones in classrooms

Daily Mail  

California schools will be required to restrict students' smartphone usage under a new law amid growing concern over social media and children's mental health. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on Monday a bill that requires schools to limit or ban the use of smartphones, in an effort to minimize distractions in the classroom and 'help students focus on …

California orders schools to restrict cellphone use amid student distractions, anxiety
6 months, 1 week ago

California orders schools to restrict cellphone use amid student distractions, anxiety

LA Times  

Students retrieve their cellphones from pouches where they are stored during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill into law that will require California school districts to restrict or ban student cellphone use, thrusting the state with the largest K-12 population in the nation into the forefront of a …

Opinion: Los Angeles school kids, get off your damn phones! You'll thank us later
6 months, 1 week ago

Opinion: Los Angeles school kids, get off your damn phones! You'll thank us later

LA Times  

The Los Angeles Unified School District will ban cellphones in classrooms starting in January. About a week later, I found myself among hundreds of parents in a Zoom meeting that was billed as a chance for Los Angeles Unified School District parents to discuss the district’s new policy banning smartphones during the school day. That realization prompted one father to …

Northern Ireland schools urged to restrict mobile phone use during day
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Northern Ireland schools urged to restrict mobile phone use during day

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Schools in Northern Ireland have been advised to restrict the …

Dutch primary schools also banning smartphones as remaining students return to class
7 months ago

Dutch primary schools also banning smartphones as remaining students return to class

NL Times  

Kids in the Noord region return to school today, and with that, the summer vacation is officially over and the academic year has started. As of today, primary school students are also not allowed to bring mobile phones, smartwatches, or other devices into the classroom. Many schools in the Centrum and Zuid regions implemented the ban in the past two …

Will students really get off cellphones? California’s Phone-Free Schools Act, explained
7 months ago

Will students really get off cellphones? California’s Phone-Free Schools Act, explained

LA Times  

William Schnider, a 17-year-old at Van Nuys High School and a student in the medical magnet program, has said he is against the cellphone ban announced by Los Angeles Unified School District. “We obviously require districts to take action by passing a policy to limit smartphone use, but we don’t tell them exactly how they have to do that.” Many …

France looking to ban phones in school
7 months ago

France looking to ban phones in school

China Daily  

France is to try out a ban on mobile phones at school for students aged 15 and under in an effort to give youngsters a "digital pause". The report noted what it said was "a very clear consensus on the direct and indirect negative effects of digital devices on sleep, on being sedentary, a lack of physical activity, and the …

France looking to ban phones in school
7 months ago

France looking to ban phones in school

China Daily  

By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2024-08-29 09:41 France is to try out a ban on mobile phones at school for students aged 15 and under in an effort to give youngsters a "digital pause". The report noted what it said was "a very clear consensus on the direct and indirect negative effects of digital …

California passes school cellphone restrictions. But some students find workarounds
7 months ago

California passes school cellphone restrictions. But some students find workarounds

LA Times  

Student use their cellphones after unlocking the pouches that secure them from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo. David and former Dymally teacher Ryan Quinn said students have brought multiple phones to school or bought their own magnet to unlock the pouch — and some even charge other students to use it. This way, Johnson …

Minister working on plans to ban mobile phones in secondary schools
7 months, 1 week ago

Minister working on plans to ban mobile phones in secondary schools

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Mobile phones could be banned in secondary schools under plans being considered by …

Editorial: Yes, more schools should ban student cellphones
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Editorial: Yes, more schools should ban student cellphones

LA Times  

William Schnider, a 17-year-old rising senior at Van Nuys High School, is against the upcoming cellphone ban in Los Angeles schools but says he understands why it is going to be enacted. Opinion Opinion: Why LAUSD should ban smartphones in schools L.A.’s principals and teachers need a policy aligned with current research, which shows that curbing phone use in schools …

Pressure mounts on Labour over smartphones after survey raises concerns on usage by children
8 months, 1 week ago

Pressure mounts on Labour over smartphones after survey raises concerns on usage by children

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “But I do think I will sit down with anyone to look at how we’ll …

Labour WON'T ban mobile phones for under-16s despite calls from Brianna Ghey's mother - as Keir Starmer hints at controls on social media
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Labour WON'T ban mobile phones for under-16s despite calls from Brianna Ghey's mother - as Keir Starmer hints at controls on social media

Daily Mail  

Keir Starmer has said he is not in favour of banning mobile phone for under-16s - but hinted at controls on social media use. Asked whether he limits his 13-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son's mobile phone use, Sir Keir told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'Our children have mobile phones and I'm not in favour of simply banning them for children …

Virginia joins other states with effort to restrict cellphones in schools
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Virginia joins other states with effort to restrict cellphones in schools

Associated Press  

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Virginia on Tuesday joined a growing number of states that are pushing for cellphone restrictions in public schools, citing concerns over students’ academic achievement and mental health. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 76% of public schools prohibited “non-academic cell phone use” during the 2021-2022 school year. For example, Loudoun County Public Schools, in …

Teachers want to expand mobile phone ban at secondary schools after early success
9 months, 1 week ago

Teachers want to expand mobile phone ban at secondary schools after early success

NL Times  

Secondary school teachers are generally positive about the government guideline to ban smartphones in the classroom. Most believe the ban led to more calm and concentration in the class, and more than half want to expand the guideline to ban phones from school altogether, according to a survey of 4,206 secondary school staff members by the teacher’s union AOb. According …

Opinion: Smartphones have silenced kids, and that isn’t a good thing. Hooray for LAUSD’s ban
9 months, 1 week ago

Opinion: Smartphones have silenced kids, and that isn’t a good thing. Hooray for LAUSD’s ban

LA Times  

A high school student look at her phone in 2019. Now, our letter writers are once again united, but this time in praise: With barely any exceptions, they’re writing in approval of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s ban on phones during the school day. To the editor: I just finished my 29th year teaching high school English and would …

Los Angeles moves to ban smartphone use in school
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Los Angeles moves to ban smartphone use in school

Raw Story  

Education bosses in Los Angeles voted Tuesday to work towards a complete ban on the use of smartphones in the city’s schools. “Schools that have…already implemented a phone-free school day report incredible results — kids are happier, they’re talking to one another, their academics are up,” said board member Nick Melvoin, who proposed the ban. It says eliminating phone and …

Column: Los Angeles public schools will ban cellphones. What’s not to like?
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Column: Los Angeles public schools will ban cellphones. What’s not to like?

LA Times  

Every time I write about smartphones taking a toll on adolescents, I get tut-tutted by critics accusing me of promoting moral panic. In a recent Times opinion essay, Los Angeles Board of Education member Nick Melvoin called for a ban on smartphones in L.A.’s public schools. In Spain, he added, the test scores of students at schools that have banned …

Opinion: Why LAUSD should ban smartphones in schools
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: Why LAUSD should ban smartphones in schools

LA Times  

Smartphones in schools are distracting for students, and honor codes dictating no phone use make more work for teachers and staff who then have to police their use. In psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Creating an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” he shows how the use of smartphones and social media, as …

MPs call for next government to consider smartphone ban for under-16s
10 months, 1 week ago

MPs call for next government to consider smartphone ban for under-16s

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The House of Commons Education Committee said tougher guidance on mobile phones in schools …

School ban on phones results in concentration and conversation
10 months, 1 week ago

School ban on phones results in concentration and conversation

Dutch News  

Pupils no longer allowed to use their mobile phones in school are chatting to each other more and are better able to concentrate but not all are happy, a survey by the Radboud University in Nijmegen has shown. The research team gauged the opinions of some 1,000 parents, pupils and teachers at two schools in Nijmegen both before and three …

'Our children should be nowhere near a smartphone': Families back teachers' calls to ban mobile phones for kids under 14 because they're 'dangerous'
10 months, 1 week ago

'Our children should be nowhere near a smartphone': Families back teachers' calls to ban mobile phones for kids under 14 because they're 'dangerous'

Daily Mail  

Parents and grandparents in St Albans have lent their support to plans for the city to become Britain's first smartphone-free area for children aged under 14. Email: tips@dailymail.com ** Grandparents Karen and Steve Mitchell, 64 and 65, said smartphones posed a danger – but it is a 'good idea' to have a basic phone at secondary school for contacting their …

The government should fund phone lockers in schools to stop children from using them during the day, Tory MPs urge Rishi Sunak
11 months ago

The government should fund phone lockers in schools to stop children from using them during the day, Tory MPs urge Rishi Sunak

Daily Mail  

Tory MPs last night urged Rishi Sunak to fund the installation of mobile phone lockers in schools to prevent children from using them during the day. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan issued new guidance to schools in February urging head teachers to ban the use of smartphones in schools, including during break periods. In their letter today, MPs urge the PM …

Phone ban could improve school performance and student wellbeing, study says
11 months ago

Phone ban could improve school performance and student wellbeing, study says

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, …

School tries to break pupils’ addiction to smartphones with 12-hour day
11 months, 1 week ago

School tries to break pupils’ addiction to smartphones with 12-hour day

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A school is introducing a 12-hour day this week in …

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