Few technological developments in human history have so thoroughly transformed society as the cellphone. In the fewer than 20 years since Apple introduced the first iPhone, that and the competing smartphones that followed have created an unprecedented level of societal connection, with global communication and literally the sum of human knowledge now as close as any pocket or purse.
Like any new technology, though, even this overwhelmingly positive one has its pitfalls. To young people who grew up with cellphone technology already in place, the connection the devices provide to the internet and to each other has become a bona fide addiction that afflicts, by some estimates, fully 50% of adolescents. Any teacher can tell you that competing with kids’ cellphones for their attention in class can be an almost constant struggle.
Many if not most school districts in Missouri today address the issue with district or individual school policies that either restrict cellphone usage during school or completely ban the phones from the classroom. Still, legislation pending to codify such restrictions is a good idea, if only to bring the occasional lagging school administrator into the fold on the issue.
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month called for a statewide ban in his state on cellphones during class time, while allowing their use between classes, in all public schools. The proposal would give individual districts some leeway on how to implement the restrictions, as well as setting exceptions to allow phone usage in emergencies or other specific circumstances.
Bipartisan efforts in Jefferson City this session to address the issue take a more decentralized approach. Multiple pending bills would require districts to create written policies best suited to their own needs, while specifying that they must prohibit cellphone use by students during instruction time.
Both states would join a growing list that have restricted cellphone use in the classroom or banned the phone altogether. At least eight states instituted or expanded such restrictions last year alone, according to , with almost a dozen more considering legislative action this year.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, like neighboring Gov. Pritzker, is on record supporting banning cellphone usage in the classroom.
“It’s simple — cell phones have no place in Missouri classrooms,†Kehoe tweeted last month.
On that point, the research is clear. Studies by the London School of Economics have found that students who are denied access to cellphones do up to 20% better on tests than their phone-using peers. A 2023 report under the United Nations found that students can take as much as 20 minutes to refocus on classroom material after being distracted by a phone.
Among the pending Missouri bills is a measure by state Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, a retired teacher.
“As somebody who was leading a classroom just two years ago,†she said during committee debate last month, as quoted by the , “I can attest to the fact that some of our students really are almost addicted to their cellphones.â€
In fact, a Pew Reseach poll in 2023 found that 72% of high school educators consider cellphone distraction a “major problem,†while 60% said it is difficult to enforce cellphone bans in classrooms.
That would seem to indicate that merely prohibiting cellphone use during class — which is the approach several of the pending Missouri bills would take — might be a less effective policy than actually banning their physical presence from the classroom.
That’s an issue lawmakers might want to dig into as they consider the legislation this spring. But whatever form it ultimately takes, it’s time for a clear statutory statement that ending the distraction of cellphones in the classroom is the official policy of Missouri.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of March 2, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
