Mobile phone use in schools

In Australian schools, mobile phones are advised to be used only in case of calls to parents or guardians and that only if the parent or guardian allows the phone to be used to during school activities such as school excursions, camps and extra-curricular activities at school.

Mobile phones with cameras are restricted within school premises while entirely banned within certain sections such as changing rooms, bathrooms, gyms and swimming pools. They are only allowed to film or take photographs of people only with their signed permission or, if the person is under eighteen,[11] to have a parent or guardian to give a sign permission note allowing for these actions. If a student is found with a mobile phone or devices within these areas, they will be confiscated; and, depending on the situation, charges or consequences will be given.

Mobile phones are not allowed to be used for sending harassing or threatening messages. If a student does commit such an act, higher authorities will become involved, including the police since this being a violation of privacy and harassment. Due to bullying, privacy and harassment issues being a major issue in Australia, if a student or teacher does break this law, it may leave them with a criminal record, leaving them at a disadvantage in the future.

Mobile phones are discouraged in terms of their use within the classroom unless they can be appropriately incorporated into the learning environment. Former Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, stated in an ABC news article that the policy was intended to "ensure mobile phones and other smart devices complement students' learning".[12]

Australian educational institutes have been divided on whether phones should be completely banned in classrooms or only allowed for certain amounts of time during school hours. Since 2019, the New South Wales government has banned phones completely from its primary schools. In a public statement justifying the policy, Berejiklian declared that the ban would encourage children to avoid using technology that could "upset them or make them feel uncomfortable". From 2020 onwards, the Victorian Department of Education has similarly barred the use of mobile phones in all public schools, both primary and secondary.[13]

The reason for banning phones is to stop bullying both online and physically and to remove distractions from the classrooms. "Mobile phones, unfortunately, are not only distracting but also causing stress for young children—and we can't have that continue," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Seven's Sunrise.[14] This will be implemented by removing students’ access to phones during the day unless a parent or guardian requests that the student needs to use it. The teacher will always have the phone kept with him somewhere where the student is still able to access it before and after school.

While mobile phones are already banned in classrooms without teacher permission and banned in primary schools nationwide, mobile phone bans or restrictions in high schools (secondary schools) during lunch and recess breaks and during free time have become a highly controversial issue and laws vary in each state and territory, as well as by school. While proponents of bans and restrictions suggest that it could decrease distractions and cyberbullying (particularly with social media usage) and increase students' academic abilities and social skills, there is no evidence that phone bans decrease cyberbullying or increase listening in class.[15][16][17][18] Phone bans in high schools are generally more likely to be supported by the centre-left Labor Party governments, while the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition is normally opposed to them, and the Coalition is strongly opposed to them in New South Wales.

Phones are currently banned or restricted in public and state primary and secondary schools in every jurisdiction except for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland.[19] However, while Queensland plans to introduce a blanket ban in 2024;[20] the ACT has no formal plans to introduce a blanket ban.[19]

In New South Wales, the issue of phone bans has been perhaps more controversial than in any other state or territory. The New South Wales Coalition (currently in Opposition) is strongly opposed to a blanket, and during the 12 years of Coalition government in New South Wales, the state government repeatedly refused to enforce a blanket ban in high schools (though the state government did introduce a blanket ban in primary schools in 2018). During the 2023 New South Wales state election campaign, the Coalition again refused to enforce a blanket ban on mobile phones in public high schools, instead allowing schools to individually decide, while the Labor Party promised a blanket phone ban in public high schools if elected. Then-Premier Dominic Perrottet and his Cabinet were vocally opposed to a blanket ban on mobile phones in public high schools,[21] with then-Education Minister Sarah Mitchell being perhaps one of the biggest critics of such a ban.[22][23][24] The Labor Party won a minority government at the election, and newly-elected Premier Chris Minns and his Cabinet reiterated that a blanket ban on mobile phones in public high schools began at the beginning of Term 4 in 2023,[19] despite a large amount of controversy.

In 2020, Victoria became the first state to enforce a blanket ban,[25] and South Australia and Tasmania soon followed.[25] In New South Wales, a blanket ban will come into place in Term 4 of 2023 while in Queensland a ban will come into place in Term 1 of 2024. In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, rules intended to stop students from using their mobile phones at public high schools are in place, but they involve less restrictive measures than other states and territories, as phones only need to be off and not accessed during the day,[25] though this policy is unclear as it does not specifically outline restrictions for usage on school excursions or other non-classroom activities such as recess and lunch breaks or during drink breaks in extracurricular sport activities, for example.

Ever since November 2018, all primary and secondary schools in China's Shandong province have banned the use of mobile phones in classrooms.[26] In February 2021, China announced that children would be banned from using mobile phones in schools unless they have written parental consent.[27]

Mobile phones are allowed in the school setting at any age. The only thing that is enforced is that work needs to be completed first before phones are used. They are requested to stay in students bags but as soon as work is completed they can use them whenever.

It is completely allowed by law to use mobile phones by students in school as long as their work is done first. This includes calls, texting, or any kind of camera use. Students must switch off their mobile phones or set to silent mode and keep them in their bags until their work is done and then they can use them when they please.[28][29][30]

For schools under the Malaysian Ministry of Education, it is a disciplinary offence for students to bring their phones to school as well as to the dormitories of boarding schools.[31] Students are expected to use the school's public phones or borrow a teacher's mobile phone in the case of an emergency.[31] Phones brought to school will be confiscated and the parents of the students who brought the phones will be notified to retrieve the phones.[31] If the student is a first-time offender, a warning will be issued. The student and their parents will also have to sign a letter of undertaking (Malay: surat aku janji, lit. 'I promise letter') in which the student promises not to bring their phone to school again.[31] If the student is a repeating offender, they will be restricted from using school or dormitory facilities or will be excluded from school programs or activities.[31]

Since 2020, all secondary schools in Turkmenistan have banned the use of mobile phones during lessons in order to increase the productivity of the educational process. The ban applies not only to school children, but also to teachers: now, during the lessons, they must put their phones on silent mode. Pupils can only use phones outside the school.[32]

In the UK, a survey showed that there were no mobile phone bans in schools in 2001 but by 2007, 50% of schools had banned mobile phones during the school day. This number increased to 98% by 2012. These bans were implemented by either forbidding students from bringing phones onto school premises or by making students hand their phones in at the beginning of the day.[33] According to a study by the London School of Economics, students' academic performance improved when policies were implemented to ban cell phone usage in schools. This ban not only helped students score higher on exams but also reduced the students' temptation to use cell phones for non-scholarly purposes.[34]

Secondary schools are introducing new, strict laws on mobile phones where students under sixteen years of age will have to put their phones away for the entire day after scientific evidence has demonstrated that students become more sociable, alert and active in the school environment without them.[35] Students place their phones inside a registered locker when they arrive at school and are only allowed to retrieve them once school has finished. With this happening, schools have found a positive impact on the students: more students are active outside, along with greater numbers attending clubs and social events. Nick Gibb told The Times, "I believe very strongly that children should be limiting their own [phone] use at home. Every hour spent online and on a smartphone is an hour less talking to family, and it's an hour less exercise and it's an hour less sleep. And of course, it is a lack of sleep that research is showing can have a damaging effect on a child's mental health."[36]

The schools did note that the positive impact was greater for students under the age of eleven rather than in older students. In fact, it was shown that older students actually suffered from a restricted use of learning platforms on their phones such as educational apps assisting in studying or learning skills.[37] Students that were caught with their mobile phones between the school time period were given punishments such as detention, expulsion or warnings. In doing so, children have been taught to limit the amount of time they spend online and focus more on their school lives along with other social activities. Nevertheless, people in England have argued against this. Patsy Kane has stated, "There's a fantastic range of apps now for revision—and the students are really motivated to use them."[38]

In the past, some United States schools installed mobile phone jammers to prevent cell phones from working on campuses.[39] However, the sale and use of jammers is illegal in the US under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, because jammers cut off 9-1-1 calls and can disrupt air navigation if they are used near airports. In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) became stricter in enforcing the ban on jammers.[40] Mt. Spokane High School in Washington state once installed a jammer to prevent students from calling and text-messaging but removed the device after it decided that it was "probably not legal" under federal law.[41] In 2015, a Florida science teacher received a five-day unpaid suspension for installing a jammer in his classroom.[42]

In 2005, the New York City Department of Education imposed a citywide ban on mobile phones in public schools.[43] However, according to The New York Times, the ban was "inconsistently enforced, with some schools allowing students to carry phones as long as staff members [did] not hear or see them, and other schools—particularly those with metal detectors at the doors—maintaining a strict ban."[43] The ban was unpopular among parents as well because it impeded communication between them and their children.[43] In March 2015, the citywide ban was lifted,[44] with Mayor Bill de Blasio fulfilling a campaign promise.[43] Under the new policy, school principals in consultation with teachers and parents may set rules on use and storage of mobile phones during instructional time and lunch breaks.[44][43] While the default rule is that phones must remain hidden, principals may also elect to "require students to store phones in backpacks or other designated places, allow the use of phones during lunch, or allow phones to be used for instructional purposes."[43] De Blasio said that the policy shift would allow parents to stay in better touch with their children, especially in case of an emergency. The New York City Schools Chancellor, Carmen Fariña, supported this policy by noting that the change means that students in schools with metal detectors would no longer have to pay outside vendors to store phones for them during the school day.[44]

When asked which type of phone-restriction policy they prefer, students tended to support the side that grants them the opportunity to bring mobile phones onto the school campus, arguing that phones allow them to reach their parents if any problem occurs. In response to the issue of parent-student communication, parents also argue that there is not a replacement for mobile phones and therefore that phones are an essential device for students to have accessible, raising concerns about a child in danger or not feeling safe not being able to contact a parent and receive assistance. Parents also believe that giving a child a phone teaches responsibility.[45] A boarding school in Massachusetts banned the use of smart phones, but not digital cameras and laptops, and handed out light phones for basic call and texting.[46]

Theft of mobile phones is another concern in some schools. In 2012, following an undercover investigation, thirteen juvenile students in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, were arrested and charged with running a cell-phone-theft ring that resulted in the theft of several thousand dollars worth of mobile phones, tablets, and other electronics.[47]

An increasing number of schools are now allowing the use of cell phones as learning tools.[48] However, the collective use of cell phones in schools poses other technological challenges. Some schools reported that allowing all students to use cell phones at the same time slows down school bandwidth speeds, and hence some schools have blocked phones from accessing the school Wi-Fi.[49]

Phone use in schools is not just an issue for students and teachers but also for other employees of educational institutions. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, while no state bans all mobile phone use for all drivers, twenty states and the District of Columbia prohibit school bus drivers from using mobile phones.[50] School bus drivers have been fired or suspended for using their phones or text-messaging while driving.[51][52]

In Utah, a bill proposed to ban the use of mobile phones in classrooms,[53] but never implemented.[54]