蜜桃影视

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

WASHINGTON 鈥� The U.S. Education Department called on every state, school and district on Tuesday to adopt policies on cellphone use in schools.

The department asks schools to have well-thought-out policies on the matter, but does not dictate exactly what those policies should be. An accompanying resource for schools notes the risk social media can pose to students鈥� mental health.

鈥淚n this digital age, every elementary, middle, and high school should have a clear, consistent, and research-informed policy to guide the use of phones and personal devices in school,鈥� U.S Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a written statement.

鈥淭he evidence makes clear: there is no one-size-fits-all policy,鈥� Cardona added, noting that 鈥渄ifferent school communities have different needs, and the nuances of this issue demand that local voices 鈥� parents, educators, and students 鈥� inform local decisions around the use of personal devices in school.鈥�

The department acknowledged the role cellphones can play in keeping parents connected to their kids, especially in emergency situations, while also highlighting the increasing evidence on the harms social media can have on youth mental health, such as sleep deprivation and depression.

Increasing state policies

An increasing number of states and school districts have enacted policies either prohibiting or restricting students from using their cellphones in the classrooms.

Across the country, schools and districts continue to grapple with how to deal with kids鈥� cellphone use, and  have sought to ban or restrict cellphone use in classrooms.

As of early November, at least eight states have passed statewide policies that either limit or prohibit cellphone use in the classrooms, according to .

That includes California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. A Minnesota law forces schools to  by March 2025.

A handful of other states鈥�  have issued  or pilot programs, while lawmakers in several more have introduced statewide legislation regarding cellphone use.

The guidance from the U.S. Education Department coincides with the release of a  for education officials and local communities on adopting cellphone use policies.

In the playbook, Cardona points to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy鈥檚  in 2023 on  on youth mental health.

Murthy warns: 鈥淢ore research is needed to fully understand the impact of social media; however, the current body of evidence indicates that while social media may have benefits for some children and adolescents, there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.鈥� 

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.