The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida
Open accessAbstract
Cellphone bans in schools have become a popular policy in recent years in the United States, yet very little is known about their effects on student outcomes.In this study, we try to fill this gap by examining the causal effects of bans on student test scores, suspensions, and absences using detailed student-level data from Florida and a quasi-experimental research strategy relying upon differences in pre-ban cellphone use by students, as measured by building-level Advan data.Several important findings emerge.First, we show that the enforcement of cellphone bans in schools led to a significant increase in student suspensions in the short-term, especially among Black students, but disciplinary actions began to dissipate after the first year, potentially suggesting a new steady state after an initial adjustment period.Second, we find significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban after that initial adjustment period.Third, the findings suggest that cellphone bans in schools significantly reduce student unexcused absences, an effect that may explain a large fraction of the test score gains.The effects of cellphone bans are more pronounced in middle and high school settings where student smartphone ownership is more common.
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The authors committed ex-ante to treat attendance rates as their primary outcome and present chronic absenteeism as a secondary measure.
“Because attendance rates are continuous and have been used in prior research on school phone bans (e.g., in Figlio and Ozek (2025)), we committed ex-ante to treat attendance rates as our primary outcome and present chronic absenteeism as a secondary measure.”
From The Effects of School Phone Bans: National Evidence from Lockable Pouches (2026) · cites this paper as Figlio and Ozek (2025)
Figlio and Ozek (2025) contrast schools with different baseline exposure to a district-wide phone ban in a single district in Florida, finding increases in disciplinary incidents and improvements in test scores.
“Figlio and ¨ Ozek (2025) also contrast schools with different baseline exposure to a district-wide phone ban in a single district in Florida, finding increases in disciplinary incidents and improvements in test scores.”
From The Educational Impacts of School Phone Bans: Evidence from Brazil (2026) · cites this paper as Figlio and ¨ Ozek (2025)
Children hate hypocrisy and resent adults using their phones while children are criticised, restricted, or punished.
“And children hate hypocrisy - and they resent it when adults use their phones while they themselves are criticised, restricted, or even punished [8].”
From The Case Against School Cell Phone Bans (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
Section 2, “Florida’s Technology in K-12 Public Schools Legislation” (page unavailable), describes restrictions and possible punishment for students’ cellphone use. The passages retrieved for hypocrisy, adult phone use, and student resentment do not address whether children resent adults using phones while students face restrictions or punishment. (LLM, conf=0.77)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFiglio and Özek (2025) conclude that smartphone bans led to significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban in Florida.
“They conclude that smartphone bans led to significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban.”
From Youth Mental Health and School Smartphone Bans: Early Evidence (2026) · cites this paper as Figlio and Özek, 2025
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The Effects of School Phone Bans: National Evidence from Lockable Pouches
Allcott, H., Baron, E. J., Dee, T., Duckworth, A., Gentzkow, M., & Jacob, B. (2026) · National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper · doi:10.3386/w35132 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Educational Impacts of School Phone Bans: Evidence from Brazil
Lichand, G., Moreno-Louzada, L., da Costa, T., & Gentzkow, M. (2026) · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6824971 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Youth Mental Health and School Smartphone Bans: Early Evidence
Saffer, H. (2026) · NBER Working Paper Series · doi:10.3386/w35181 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Case Against School Cell Phone Bans
Livingstone, S. (2026) · JAMA Pediatrics · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.6428
Phone-Free Schools to Protect Adolescents
Golin, J., & Buck, D. (2026) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.6422
Chowdhury, C. R. (2026) · The British Journal of Translational Global Health · doi:10.5005/bjotgh-11016-0039
Youth Well-Being in the Digital Age: An Ongoing Priority for Public Health
Young, E., Rasberry, C. N., Wilkins, N. J., Mpofu, J. J., Ashley, C. L., Haridopolos, S., & Underwood, J. M. (2026) · Public Health Reports · doi:10.1177/00333549261455314
What the COVID pandemic did—and did not do—To children: Introduction to the special section
Johnson, A. D., Stein, G. L., & Pollak, S. D. (2026) · Child Development · doi:10.1093/chidev/aacag153
- Authors
- Figlio, D., & Özek, U.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- RAND Corporation (US)
- ORCID
- Özek, Umut
- Venue
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Publisher
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Published
- 2025-10
- OpenAlex
- W4415508422
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5
- Type
- report
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Smith Richardson Foundation
- Sid W. Richardson Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Education Discipline and Inequality
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- student discipline, school suspension, student test scores, school absenteeism, smartphone use, Black students, middle and high school students, Florida schools
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