‘Schools will have to ‘help kids adjust to life without phones’

About 75% of public schools in Washington state have implemented some limitations on cell phones. Gov. Bob Ferguson would like to see limitations at all of them.“From the first bell to the last, students will not have access to their cell phones. In our schools, digital distractions are causing kids to miss what’s written on the whiteboard. They’re focusing more on memes than on math,” Ferguson said at a press conference in June. Ferguson called legislation to limit phones in schools a top priority in the next legislative session.A push to limit cell phones in classrooms began several years ago, after state schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal urged school districts to adopt policies and procedures limiting their use. Principal Zachary Stowell of Robert Eagle Staff Middle School in Seattle said a change at that school brought positive changes to the learning and social environment.

“The classrooms are more vibrant, students are engaging, there’s more social time. And at the end of the day, student success is up. Our climate data is up, our test scores are up, and I’m seeing kids smile at rates that we’ve never seen before,” Stowell said.

The Washington Healthy Youth Survey asked middle and high school students about social media in 2023 and 2025. In the latest survey, 37% of the state’s sixth graders said they use social media several times a day. That percentage ticked up in the upper grades, with 75% of 12^th graders saying they use social media several times a day.

Another nationwide study published in 2024 used an app to track phone use. It showed that participating students spent an average of 1.5 hours on smart phones during the school day, and 25% of them spent more than two hours on the phone during school.

Dr. Lucía Magis-Weinberg, associate director of research for the Center for Digital Youth at the University of Washington, surveyed Washington schools to learn more about the impacts phone rules had on students and teachers.

She says one surprise was that around 20% of students reported more stress – some because they had come to rely on their phones for everything, like many adults do.

She said schools will have to help students adjust to life without phones, like students did in the pre-cell phone era.

“I knew that I had to bring pen and paper, that I had to bring my my school calendar, which was printed, where I could write down. I had to bring my watch. I had to very clearly coordinate with my parents before I went into the school building. Who was going to pick me up on what times?” Dr. Magis-Weinberg said.

She said the most successful schools in the study did more than just restrict phones.

“The schools that were most successful, perhaps were the ones who also very proactively organized social activities for youth. So some schools brought in like more board games or [cut] any type of school activity that leads to interaction,” Dr. Magis-Weinberg said.

The Center for Digital Youth also works with a small group of high school students called the Youth Advisory Board to help shape its research. Last year, the Youth Advisory Board issued a research memo on school phone policies, encouraging policymakers to make several considerations when making rules. Those included considering alternatives to all-day bans, considering individual medical and translation needs, and including input from students, parents and teachers.

One Robert Eagle Staff seventh grader told reporters at Gov. Ferguson’s press conference that those changes made a huge difference among students.

“They’re not consistently worried about notifications, social media, or getting a text that can change their whole mood in seconds. During the day, we get a break from all of that and can focus on our learning friends and more,” the student named Zoey said.

Ferguson said a detailed proposal from his office is expected in September. If passed, a cell phone policy law would start in the 2027-28 school year.