A hot potato: The question of whether smartphones should be banned in American schools is controversial. While parents don’t want their children to be distracted while they’re learning, they also want to make sure they’re reachable in the event of an emergency, such as a school shooting. A new survey confirms this view, noting that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support a ban on cell phones during class, but only 36 percent want a complete ban throughout the school day.

The results come from the Pew Research Center, which surveyed 5,110 American adults. The results showed that 68% of respondents supported banning middle and high school students from using phones in class, while 24% opposed the idea and 8% were unsure.

Among those who favored a class ban, 45% said they strongly supported it – the majority (98%) cited “reducing distractions among students” as the reason they supported it. The other three reasons were that students would develop better social skills (91%), be less likely to cheat (85%), and reduce bullying (70%).

While most people want phones banned from class, only about a third (36%) of participants want them banned for an entire school day.

Unsurprisingly, being able to reach a child in times of need was the most popular reason for opposing a ban during lessons, cited by 86% of participants. Other reasons were that the ban would be too difficult to enforce (73%), that phones are a useful educational tool (70%), and that parents, rather than teachers, the state or the government, should decide whether their child can use a phone in class (64%).

Older adults were more supportive of bans in the classroom and throughout the school day, as were self-identified Republicans.

At least 15 states have passed laws or adopted policies banning smartphones in public schools in the past year.

Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law requiring school districts across the state to limit or prohibit students from using their smartphones on campus or while under the supervision of school staff . The rules must be adopted before July 1, 2026.

New York also planned to ban smartphones in schools, although the state recently backed away from that idea after Louis D. Brandeis High School failed to properly notify parents during a lockdown.

Prestigious British boarding school Eton College has a new way to reduce mobile usage among students: giving them school-issued Nokia dumb phones with no online connectivity.