Do Cellphone Bans in Schools Work? A Clinical Case Study from One School District

Abstract

Objectives: Recent years have seen many school districts institute various forms of cellphone bans to improve youth mental health, behavior, and academics. However, data on their effectiveness remains slim.

Study Design/Methods: This clinical case report study reports on data from one large school district in Florida for the year before and the year during its first year of a comprehensive cellphone ban. Data were obtained by Public Records Request and are presented descriptively.

Results: Data related to bullying, mental health referrals, and grades all suggest either stagnant or worsening outcomes after the cellphone ban. By contrast, the cellphone bans created 660 new suspensions of students.

Conclusions: Although descriptive, this data adds to concerns that cellphone bans may have been implemented before there was evidence they worked and may do more harm than good.

Cite this article as: Ferguson C. Do cellphone bans in schools work? A clinical case study from one school district. Pediatr Acad Case Rep. 2026;5(3):64-8.

The author contributed to the concept, design, supervision, provision of materials, data collection and/or processing, analysis and interpretation of data, literature review, writing of the manuscript, and critical review of the manuscript.

The author declared no conflicts of interest with respect to authorship and/or publication of the article.

The author received no financial support for the research and/or publication of this article.