Youth leaders back proposed cellphone ban in Boston public schools

Boston Public School officials have proposed a comprehensive bell-to-bell ban on cellphones and other personal electronic devices that would begin in fall 2027.

The ban, which was discussed during a School Committee meeting Wednesday evening, would also apply to laptops, tablets, smartwatches and smart glasses. It would require students to lock up non-school-issued devices for the whole school day.

The ban still requires approval from the School Committee, which plans to vote on the restrictions in January. Last year, the Boston City Council passed a resolution in support of a similar policy.

But already, youth leaders are saying they support the idea.

“I think it’s really important that school districts, like Boston, have moved forward with these policies, given that the state has yet to pass its own statewide guidance,” Will Austin, an education consultant who is co-founder of the Substack Boston Focus, told GBH News on Thursday. “Early research shows that when implemented correctly, these cell phone bans can be beneficial for students in school.”

Rather than issuing a uniform ban across the district, individual school leaders will choose their own securing method for electronic devices, including storing electronics in dedicated lockers or another form of storage during the day. School leaders can also opt for Yondr pouches, a small bag that can only be unlocked with a special magnet that school officials would have.

In a memo to the School Committee on Wednesday, district officials cite research from the American Pediatric Association that shows that “electronics and social media significantly affect students’ overall well-being and academic performance.”

“BPS aims to offer a distraction-free, safe and welcoming environment that encourages authentic face-to-face connections,” according to the memo.

Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, executive director of Sociedad Latina and a former School Committee member, said she’s been advocating for this ban for a few years. Contacted Thursday by GBH News, she said she’d ultimately like to see devices off and away from students entirely during the school day.

“That is a best practice, and there is research around that — that even having a cell phone in a pouch that’s locked, you still have a cognitive tie to your phone,” she said. “Even if you’re maintaining attention and sustaining that attention, it still reduces your available cognitive capacity.”

Austin said for these bans to be successful, there needs to be consequences for not complying.

“We obviously want our kids to all do the right thing, but there also has to be consequences for when they don’t do the right thing,” he said. “Without that happening at the school level and being consistent, then the ban will not be enforced.”

The proposed ban, which is outlined in the memo, doesn’t say whether students would be punished for non-compliance.

Data indicates that many schools experience a rough patch when first implementing these bans, like increased disciplinary issues. But Austin said data also shows that “that quickly falls off.”

“Some of the early indications on academic outcomes are a little mixed. It’s not as clear exactly how beneficial it is or not,” he said. “But a lot of the anecdotal evidence you at least hear from principals and teachers in schools is that they have seen tremendous benefits for kids’ sociability and mental health in school.”

Oliver-Dávila said Sociedad Latina has surveyed the youth it works with about cellphone bans. While it’s a mixed bag of responses, students that attend schools with cellphone bans have noticed a difference.

“Before, they talked about how it was silent and everyone was just on their phones during lunch,” she said. “Now people come in and they look you in the eye and say good morning, and they have found just more connection and more community.”

The move also comes as a proposal to ban cellphones in all public schools in Massachusetts loses steam.

Several other major school districts in the state, including Brockton, Cambridge, Newton and Fall River have already implemented similar restrictions. But Massachusetts remains among a small number of states without a statewide baseline policy.

A longtime advocate of a statewide policy is the Becca Schmill Foundation, a Needham-based nonprofit led by Deb Schmill.

In a statement, Schmill said while it’s disappointing that the state legislature still hasn’t implemented a statewide ban, she commends Boston Public Schools for “taking an important step toward creating the distraction-free learning environments our children deserve.”

“Its proposed bell-to-bell policy reflects what parents, educators, and child advocates have said for years: the school day should be for learning, human connection, and healthy development — not constant digital distraction,” she said.

Austin said since the policy won’t be implemented until September 2027, the district has time to finalize it.

“I would take the time to work with families, students, stakeholders, educators to create a uniform policy that is administered uniformly across grade levels, across schools,” he said.

School administrators will hold listening sessions with students, families and teachers to finalize their plans before the School Committee vote in January.