What to know about school phone bans
While the number of schools taking action has quickly risen across the country, opponents voice objections including personal freedom for students and safety concerns in an emergency.
Here's what to know:
Where are cellphone bans happening?
At least 22 states have signed legislation regarding cellphone policies in K-12 schools, while some districts or schools have also acted on their own. But not all the restrictions look the same.
States such as New York and Arkansas have implemented bell-to-bell cellphone bans, meaning students lack access to their phones the whole school day.
Others including Kentucky and Tennessee have implemented instructional time bans, allowing students their phones between classes or at lunch.
California and Arizona have laws requiring schools to create guidance around cellphone usage, and almost a dozen other states are considering legislation around cellphones in schools.
How are the policies implemented?
Implementation of cellphone restrictions vary by district.
The strictest districts have taken to using some version of a Yondr bag, a container that students must put their phones in at the beginning of the day that locks it inside.
At the end of the day, there is a device on which students can scan the bags, and the phones are released.
But not all districts have the resources to invest in hard prevention methods, with some opting for teachers to collect phones either at the beginning of the day or before class starts.
Other responses have been as simple as increasing punishments if a student is caught with a cellphone, such as taking the phone or detention.
The Hill's Lexi Lonas Cochran has more here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
55 million US visa holders to be vetted for deportable offenses
The State Department said on Thursday that it is vetting more than 55 million U.S. visa holders for deportable offenses, including overstays, criminal activity and engagement in any form of 'terrorist activity.' The department stated that all U.S. visa holders, which includes international students and tourists, will go through 'continuous vetting.' 'The State Department revokes visas any time there are indications of a potential ineligibility, which includes things like any indicators of overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization,' a State Department spokesperson told The Hill in an emailed statement on Thursday. 'We review all available information as part of our vetting, including law enforcement or immigration records or any other information that comes to light after visa issuance indicating a potential ineligibility under the INA,' the spokesperson added, referring to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Since the start of President Trump's second term in office, the State Department has revoked more than 6,000 student visas. Around 4,000 of those individuals broke the law, while another 200 to 300 were rescinded for backing terrorists, according to the State Department. The White House has gone after foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestine protests around the country, arguing they are national security threats. Some of those students are currently challenging the deportation proceedings. Earlier this year, thousands of international students were withdrawn from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, although their status was later restored. The administration has also focused on arresting and deporting migrants who are in the U.S. illegally as part of Trump's sweeping immigration agenda. 'As part of the Trump Administration's commitment to protect U.S. national security and public safety, since Inauguration Day the State Department has revoked more than twice as many visas, including nearly four times as many student visas, as during the same time period last year,' the State Department spokesperson said on Thursday.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump launches natsec probe into wind imports
Energy & Environment The Big Story Wind turbines, components come under scrutiny The Trump administration has launched a national security probe into imports of wind turbines and their components — a move that could ultimately lead to higher tariffs for wind energy. The probe, which marks the latest salvo in the administration's efforts to stymie wind energy, was announced in a Federal Register notice Thursday. 'On August 13, 2025, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of wind turbines and their parts and components,' the notice says. It does not explicitly lay out the reasons for or evidence behind the probe, and the Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately respond to questions from The Hill. But the administration requested information from the public on topics including the role of foreign supply chains, the impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices and whether there's any ability to weaponize foreign-built wind turbines and their parts. It comes after the administration earlier this week increased steel and aluminum tariffs for hundreds of products, including wind turbines. Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: White House unveils details for EU trade deal The White House unveiled details for its trade deal with the European Union (EU) on Thursday. Full Story Navarro expects no extension for 50 percent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Thursday that he doesn't expect President Trump to extend the timeline on doubling tariffs on India as a penalty for buying Russian oil beyond next week. Full Story Montana Republicans call for 50 percent tariff on Russian palladium imports The Montana congressional delegation is urging President Trump to introduce a 50 percent tariff on Russian palladium imports, after a multinational mining group with a presence in the state submitted a similar request earlier this month. Full Story What We're Reading News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: Supreme Court allows Trump to gut DEI-linked NIH grants The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling Thursday, enabled the Trump administration to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants linked to diversity initiatives. Read more Cracker Barrel redesign faces backlash, causes political frenzy Cracker Barrel, the 'old country store' eatery that has been a staple of interstate detour dining since its growth in the 1990s, is facing backlash and becoming a point of partisan conflict as the chain tries to meet modern times. Read more
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Democrats face challenge in countering Trump on crime
Democrats are struggling to mount a response as Trump has federalized Washington, D.C., and seized control of the Metropolitan Police Department while threatening to take similar actions in other Democratic cities. In interviews with The Hill, some Democrats have expressed frustration with their party's emphasis on decreasing crime rates instead of focusing on the way voters feel walking the streets of their city. 'These crime statistics, as impressive as they are, are no substitute for how people feel and what they see, and Washington residents still feel like crime is too high and too pervasive, and … that reality has created this opening for Donald Trump,' said Democratic strategist Anthony Coley, who resides in the nation's capital. 'Now that is no excuse for this political stunt he is trying to do, but from a raw political perspective, you never want to give your political opponent an opening to address a real concern that your constituents have.' In a press conference last week, Trump signaled that Washington was just the start of his federal crackdown on crime and Democratic cities across the country could be next. 'You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is,' Trump said. 'We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore — they're so far gone.' 'We're not going to lose our cities over this, and this will go further,' Trump added. Trump appealed to voters' perceptions of crime during his 2024 campaign — even though crime rates in cities around the country were at multidecade lows. Now he is doubling down on his campaign rhetoric. A YouGov poll last week found that 89 percent of Americans think crime in U.S. cities is a problem. The poll also showed that more than half of Americans think crime in U.S. cities has increased since 2020. 'One of the reasons that Trump has taken to this is because there's this impression that Democrats are soft on crime and that progressives are too lax on criminals and criminal activity,' Democratic strategist Basil Smikle said. 'I think that it's important to say that crime has gone down in part because communities did respond to the high crime rates. … It wasn't just more policing, and I think that's a very important point that they need to hammer home.' In recent days, mayors of Democratic strongholds in Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, Chicago and Baltimore have pointed to their city's decreasing crime rates, calling Trump's moves baseless and power hungry. Many of them have also highlighted the policies they've implemented. 'From my first day in office, public safety has been my top priority,' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement Sunday. 'In just two years we have made historic progress, driving down homicides by more than 30 percent and reducing shootings by almost 40 percent in the last year alone.' 'If President Trump wants to help make Chicago safer, he can start by releasing the funds for anti-violence programs that have been critical to our work to drive down crime and violence,' Johnson added. 'Sending in the National Guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts.' And some Democrats say that's really all they can be doing — at least until they're able to take the battle to the courts. 'This is more about who you are going to believe,' Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau said. 'There's a lot of dog-whistle in there, and if people are susceptible to believing that, then it's hard to combat it.' 'It's hard to say that you should respond with anything but the truth, even if some people don't want to hear the truth,' Mollineau added. 'This is performative, and it's not actually getting the results. I think that's where we need to go, but I do think that there's going to be a population that's never going to believe us.' At the same time, because Democrats have struggled with voters on crime, some strategists say now is the time for them to fine tune their policies — closing gaps that Trump could try to fill. 'I do think, though, that there are legislative fixes and tweaks that many lawmaking bodies and democratically held cities should revisit, even as the data continues to fall,' Coley said. He argues local government officials in D.C., in how they handled crime during and after the pandemic, created a political opening for Trump. 'So I think other cities should do what they can to further improve how people feel about public safety in their jurisdictions,' he added. 'And they should do that now.' Some Democrats say officials in their party have already done the work successfully and that sending that message to voters is what will ease their perceptions of unsafe streets. 'I don't think [Democrats] are out of touch because crime has gone down in these cities, so they know how to police their cities,' Smikle said. 'They have to just remind voters that they brought crime down in their cities, and they know how to do that.' Either way, Democrats say they will have to do something to convince voters they are competent on crime, but they say the political consequences could be low for Trump. 'Most of America has little to no sympathy for Washington, D.C. That became evident during the DOGE cuts,' said one Democratic strategist of the mass-layoffs by Trump's Department of Government of Efficiency. 'So while Americans should be concerned about an authoritarian power grab, I'm not sure it will resonate.' 'D.C. is on its own,' the strategist added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
