cellphone addiction
Illustration by Rizki Kurniawan on Unsplash

EIGHT YEARS AGO, our schools took a leap that many others are only now debating: We banned cell phones.

School is meant to be a safe place for young people to focus, grow, and learn. Yet phones were interfering with academic learning and focus in general, negatively impacting youth mental health and limiting healthy social and emotional development. We had to release our students from an online world they were trapped in. It was a learning curve, and what happened was something we never predicted: Students thanked us for the structure, and teachers, even those who were skeptical, said they could teach for impact again. Subsequent research on the effects of social media on the brain’s ability to focus and retain information validated our approach.

The Commonwealth is close to doing something about the impact of cell phones on learning. The House and Senate have passed versions of a “bell-to-bell” cell phone ban in schools, which is now in a House-Senate conference committee to iron out differences. Before the Legislature breaks for the year at the end of July, it should ensure the proposal makes it to the governor’s desk for her to sign into law.

Our message, from years of experience, is simple: It works.

There’s a tidal wave of evidence showing how smartphones in schools, even when they are in lockers, are letting outside distractions spill into the halls, bringing dysregulation, drama, and anxiety with them. If this legislation doesn’t pass, it will result in continued digital disruption clouding young minds when clarity and focus have never mattered more.

As a school leader and parent, I witnessed a stark change after students first got cell phones: classroom distraction and interpersonal conflicts rose, while self-esteem dropped and anxiety spiked. The adolescent brain, still developing impulse control and focus until the mid-20s, is neurologically vulnerable to constant phone and social media stimulation. Each notification provides a dopamine hit, conditioning the brain for instant gratification over sustained attention. We have a moral obligation to protect students’ developing executive function systems by limiting digital distractions, allowing them the space to build the focus, patience, and emotional regulation necessary for true learning.

With three distinct campuses in Chelsea, Lawrence and Springfield, Phoenix staff quickly realized a one-size-fits-all policy wouldn’t work, nor would a top-down approach. We adapted to each community, emphasizing clear communication to explain the “why” and build trust.

We quickly learned how deeply phones served as coping tools for anxiety and as symbols of control in a world where kids often feel powerless. We created quiet spaces for breaks and active spaces for genuine interaction through board games or sports. We also worked with students to co-author various processes, even being able to check their phones at lunchtime for short periods. The overall result was striking. Students started talking, laughing, and engaging again, no longer hiding behind their screens.

This is exactly what adolescents were craving. Deep down, they know that constant phone use is lonely and isolating. Young people are remarkably resilient and adaptable. They just need adults to set clear boundaries with transparent information.

In a world where being on a phone all day has become the norm, our students are proving that “normal” isn’t always healthy. What’s most striking is the unity this shift has created. It’s rare in education to find total agreement among teachers, social workers, administrators, and staff. And now, nearly everyone across our three campuses believes in the value of these bans, because they’ve seen what happens when we give students their focus and freedom back.

If schools set clear boundaries, parents can too. As a mother of three, I understand the agony of not knowing. But we can’t parent through texts. If there’s an emergency, schools will reach you. Teachers are a message away with the many easy and secure apps now in classrooms. What our kids really need isn’t constant contact, it’s confidence. If they haven’t learned to ask for help, that’s a skill to build, not another reason to reach for a phone.

Meanwhile, school leaders don’t have to wait for legislation to create a school culture that’s as distraction-free as possible. We have a moral and ethical obligation as educators to be resolute leaders, fostering calm, consistent, safe, trauma-informed, and productive learning environments where students can regain their focus on instruction – and one of the key ways of accomplishing that is to create a phone-free environment from bell to bell.

Beth Anderson is the founder and superintendent of Phoenix Charter Academy Charter Public Schools, a group of charter public schools offering alternative pathways for students to earn their high school diplomas and achieve success in college and career pathways. Phoenix has campuses in Chelsea, Lawrence, and Springfield.