PTC Gives A+ to Los Angeles Unified School District for Implementing Cellphone Ban

LOS ANGELES (February 19, 2025) – The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) gives the Los Angeles Unified School District an A+ for implementing its cellphone ban during school hours. The ban went into effect yesterday, and news outlets such as the Los Angeles Times reported that there were no “major hitches” with the implementation.

“Los Angeles Unified is helping to lead the way towards student academic excellence by removing the digital distractions from the classroom. Early reports indicate that the cellphone ban has been successful. We applaud the district’s efforts and encourage more states and districts to follow this example,” said Melissa Henson, vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council.

“Schools must prioritize education during the school day, and removing student cellphone access is significant way to find success. Not only are phones in schools causing students to be distracted when they are supposed to be learning, children can be exposed to harmful content, and phones can be weaponized against other students. For these reasons and more, it is wise the Los Angeles Unified have banned cellphones during school,” Henson said.

A PTC whitepaper, Smartphones in the Classroom: What States are Doing to Confront These Digital Distractions (July 2024), revealed that 28 U.S. states have made efforts to eliminate or restrict cellphones in classrooms, and includes a parents’ guide on how to advocate for more restrictive cellphone policies in schools.

In August 2024, the National Education Association revealed that 90% of its members “support school policy prohibiting cell phone/personal devices during instructional time,” and cited several concerns, including that smartphones are distracting, social media use impacts the mental health of students, and that smartphones can be weaponized against classmates and teachers. A Pew Research Center study that found “68% of U.S. adults say they support a ban on middle and high school students using cellphones during class.”