According to a Stony Brook University report released earlier this year, “teenagers use cellphones for 5.59 hours each day. In addition to leisure activities like scrolling social media and gaming, cellphones are typically used by adolescents for various school-related activities like keeping track of assignments, submitting homework, and replying to emails.” Though cellphones are not purely used for social engagement, thousands of schools across the country, Parker included, are implementing bans. However, despite some reported positive outcomes, there are still questions regarding safety and mental health.
As of 2025, 20 U.S. states have passed state legislation banning or otherwise limiting cellphone usage in public K-12 schools, and an additional 16 have published recommendations for schools. Although exempt from state ruling over schools, private institutions have also begun implementing their own policies. Parker, for instance, has outlawed phone usage during the school day altogether. This change comes after recent studies citing cellphones as a leading cause of poor classroom behavior, increased distraction, and lower testing scores.
Cristina Castro sponsored a bill to ban cellphones in Illinois schools during instructional time in the summer of 2025. While it passed through the Senate with a unanimous vote, it ultimately failed after entering the House. However, advocates believe it will reappear in the legislature shortly.
Illinois governor, and former Parker parent, J.B. Pritzker said, “Regulating cellphone use in schools is a crucial step toward improving student focus and academic performance… Further, cyberbullying has expanded at alarming rates, and it’s time for Illinois to take measures to protect our kids.”
Pritzker is not alone in his opinions. According to a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, “74% of adults are in favor of in-school phone bans for both middle and high school students.” Though still a student, senior Naia Trunkenbrod feels similarly. “I strongly believe that phone bans at the state and school level are a good idea because younger generations are so heavily affected by the content they are consuming. There’s a clear decrease in intellectual and behavioral skills in children who grew up on phones,” Trunkenbrod said.
A recent study conducted by the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities found that “smartphones have a strong association with poor mental health. Specifically, it was noted that 48% of girls with access to cellphones by six years old experienced suicidal thoughts at some point in their lifetime, contrasting with the 28% of girls who had access to a cellphone after the age of 13.”
“When phones are available and used frequently, it’s super easy for people to include or exclude others,” Upper School Counselor Winnie Kearns said. “Phones really have an impact on people’s ability to engage freely without fear of out of context, misrepresentation, or retribution in some way.”
With the uptick of school shootings, a potential risk of phone bans is posed. As of September 2025, there have already been 47 school shootings in the United States alone. Some argue that by removing devices from schools, students wouldn’t be able to communicate with the outside world in extreme cases of danger. “National phone bans are extremely risky for students and don’t take into consideration the circumstances we’re faced with,” senior Ava Lin said. “If there was an emergency event where a student got separated, they would have no way of knowing what was going on.”
Additionally, school bans require administrators to donate money and time to the cause. Many public schools have turned to Yondr pouches as a measure to lock up students’ devices throughout the day so that they are unable to feed into the temptation of social media. However, these pouches can cost upwards of $30 per student. When factoring in the number of students attending public schools, expenses can rise well into tens of thousands of dollars. If schools instead choose to issue punishments like detention for those going against the policy, school officials are forced to take time from their busy days to reprimand instead of teaching positive lessons.
Parker instituted the cellphone ban two years ago, adjusting the policy periodically to reflect changing times. Students, however, are still adapting, with others finding gaps in policy regulation to use phones, which can eliminate their fears of in-school isolation. “I got used to the phone policy and during the day, I still occasionally pull out my phone,” said an anonymous Upper School student. “I’m still communicating with my friends more than I did when we had phones and being more productive during the day, but if something happens, I can always pull out my phone.”
The Parker administration aims to put students first and is acclimated to data in order to do so. With only limited research on the effectiveness of phone bans, institutions nationwide are waiting for study results that allow them to best accommodate their students’ needs.