Our kids are walking around with slot machines in their pockets. In a perfect world, they could keep their phones turned off and in their backpacks during class, a balance that would support learning while still respecting their need for autonomy. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that perfect world.
According to a recent study by Common Sense Media, 97% of 11- to 17-year-olds use their phones during the school day. Students receive a median of 237 notifications daily, with about a quarter arriving during school hours. Research shows that having a smartphone nearby — even powered off — significantly reduces working memory, problem-solving and social connection.
That’s because our attention is limited. The brain spends energy resisting distractions; even the effort of not checking a device consumes mental bandwidth. Add constant task-switching — checking, refocusing, checking again — and students’ cognitive resources are quickly depleted. But when phones are physically stored elsewhere, performance on cognitive tasks improves.
Does this mean every student needs their phone locked away to learn? Of course not. But public schools already adopt policies that benefit the whole community, even if not everyone needs them: Free meals, nut-free environments, accessible playgrounds and independent reading times are all examples of this. Each policy creates conditions that help all students focus and connect. Removing phones from bell to bell is another simple, research-backed step toward that same goal.
Take Berkeley for example. Before the passage of AB 3216 in 2024, which requires all California public schools to limit or prohibit smartphone use by July 2026, Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, only restricted phone use during class time. Under its current proposal, devices would be off all day for preschool and elementary students, but again, only during class time for middle and high schoolers.
BUSD’s approach falls short. Limiting phone use during class but allowing it during non-class times, such as lunch and passing periods, ignores how profoundly these devices shape students’ attention, emotions and relationships throughout the entire school day. Learning doesn’t stop when class ends — it happens in hallways, on the playground and at lunch tables. Phones teach young people to abandon discomfort, to escape awkwardness or boredom. But it’s those un-scrollable moments that teach us how to be human.
Many teens share that they feel a compulsion to pull out their phones when friends do. My kids who attend BUSD schools describe this daily tug-of-war: Some teachers enforce phone rules strictly, while others allow phones out when there’s extra class time. Some students sneak texts regardless of classroom rules. Enforcement is inconsistent and often falls on teachers, forcing them to choose between being the “bad cop” or looking the other way.
It doesn’t have to be this hard. District-wide bell-to-bell phone removal is more effective than piecemeal policies because it’s clear, consistent and fair. When every student follows the same rule, there’s less confusion, fewer conflicts, clearer expectations and more consistent enforcement. The physical accessibility of the phone is crucial — policies are most effective when students store devices in a central location or locked pouch until the end of the day.
Many districts agree. In June 2024, Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, approved a full-day phone restriction covering meals, breaks and passing periods. Early reports point to fewer fights and greater engagement. In 2025, New York became the first state to mandate bell-to-bell restrictions for all public schools, allowing local flexibility in storage. Baltimore City Public Schools also updated its policy, requiring devices to be “powered off, away, and secured” all day after pilot programs showed calmer classrooms and fewer distractions. If those large systems can do it, other districts can too.
We absolutely should teach kids to self-regulate their device use — screen limits alone aren’t the answer. But just as we wouldn’t teach someone to drive by putting them behind the wheel of a semitruck, we can’t expect children to master self-control against devices engineered to hijack their attention. That’s not a fair setup.
Defined periods of separation from technology aren’t a restriction — they’re a form of freedom.For seven hours a day, 10 months a year, school can be the one place where every student experiences what it feels like to be fully present. Learning to be without your phone, even in moments of boredom or discomfort, is a skill worth practicing. And for our students, that practice should begin at school.
Reichi is a former children’s attorney and law professor, and is the founder of Healthfully, a digital wellness consulting practice on a mission to help kids build healthy tech habits. Contact her at reichi@reichilee.com. Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org or follow us on X.