#  School Cell Phone Policies  

 



##  School Cell Phone Policies 

[States Leading States](https://cepr.harvard.edu/sls) is exploring the impacts of policies limiting cell phone use during the school day on student learning and well-being—from a national study focused on bell-to-bell bans implemented using lockable storage, to a multi-state study examining how different school-level policies affect student outcomes in multiple states across the country.



 

 

 

       ![Cell phones](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-09/Screenshot%202026-09-15%20at%2010.16.01%E2%80%AFAM.png?h=db568c6e&itok=K8VDv2IY) 

 

 



 

 



 

Coming Soon

### Phone-Free Schools and Achievement Growth: A Student-Level Analysis 

 

In partnership with NWEA, SLS is conducting a national study to evaluate the impact of bell-to-bell cell phone bans, implemented using Yondr’s lockable pouches, on student academic achievement. This study draws on student-level data from a national sample of more than six million students, allowing for unique insights into how the effects of bell-to-bell bans vary for different groups of students.



 





Coming in 2027

### Multi-State Cell Phone Study 

 

SLS is evaluating the effects of school-level cell phone policies on student learning and well-being in five states: Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Tennessee. This study draws school policy data from the national Phones in Focus survey through a partnership with Angela Duckworth and her team at the University of Pennsylvania, alongside student-level state assessment data, student survey data, and educator survey data. Our findings will offer early evidence on the impacts of cell phone bans on student achievement, engagement, discipline, and school climate in a range of U.S. state contexts.