Students at Northeast Middle School in Kansas City used to run into one another as they navigated the halls with eyes fixed on their cellphone screens, said school librarian Paula York. That changed after a 2025 Missouri law banned students’ personal electronic devices such as cellphones during the entire school day, York said.

Divided Opinions

In contrast, Ruskin High School Principal Ernest Fields couldn’t think of any positive effects of the new law. ‘Cellphone usage during instructional time is what the main problem is,’ he said. ‘To ban it even during personal time, I think that’s an overreach.’ Fields said enforcing the law during class time has itself become a distraction.

Some teachers and administrators said they appreciate the legal backup to existing school policies and see benefits to students socializing instead of scrolling during lunch and other breaks. Others described downsides, saying that the law can unnecessarily restrict helpful uses of technology such as communicating with parents or employers or using personal devices to make up for the shortcomings of school-issued technology.

Christy Moreno, the national organizing director for the National Parents’ Union, said the policy and advocacy group polled parents and found that most support ‘balanced approaches’ that allow students some access to their phones in case of emergency or during breaks.

Law Details

Missouri’s law restricting cellphone use in school doesn’t actually include the word ‘cellphone.’ Instead, it refers to ‘electronic personal communication devices’ and defines that as ‘a portable device that is used to initiate, receive, store, or view communication, information, images, or data electronically.’ Public school districts and charter schools must make policies about those personal devices that stop students from using or displaying them during the whole school day, not only during class but also during study halls, meals and breaks.

Original reporting: The Beacon (Kansas City) — read the source article.