Cell Phone Bans Are Here… But Does The Data Show They Work?
From All of the Above Podcast by All of the Above
May 16, 2026 · 18 min
About this episode
The episode discusses a study on the effectiveness of cell phone bans in schools and their impact on student behavior and academic performance.
Today on AOTA Shorts: A new study from researchers at Stanford, Duke, Michigan, and Penn that analyzes data from Yondr, the makers of cell phone pouches used in many districts with new phone restrictions, shows mixed results, depending on how you look at the data. Big picture, the bans work to dramatically reduce phone usage during the school day. But data regarding improvements in discipline, student well being, and academic achievement is either lagging, or minimal at this point. But, some of the data shows us what we’d expect -- kids initially push back against the bans, but then settle in and do better over time. So, what does it all mean for kids and schools? Manuel and Jeff discuss! MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com Watch, listen and subscribe to make sure you don't miss our latest content! Listen on Apple Podcast and Spotify Website: https://AOTAshow.com
People in this episode
Hosts: Manuel, Jeff
Topics covered
- cell phone bans
- school discipline
- student well-being
- academic achievement
- data analysis
- education policy
Keywords
- cell phone bans
- Yondr
- student discipline
- academic performance
- school policies
- education research
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Stanford, Duke, Michigan, Penn
Products: Yondr
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