Locking Away Distraction: Effects of School Cellphone Bans on Student Behavior and School Climate

• In Event: Contemporary Policy Impacts on Students' High School Experiences

Abstract

States and school districts across the United States are adopting stricter cellphone policies, increasing pressure on policymakers to determine whether these restrictions improve student outcomes and the best way to implement them. Despite widespread adoption, rigorous evidence on whether cellphone bans are effective and who benefits from them remains scarce. This paper fills that gap by examining the effects of cellphone bans enforced through Yondr locking pouches on student behavior and perceptions of school climate using staggered adoption across New York City high schools between 2017 and 2024.This study asks two main questions: first, do Yondr-enforced cellphone bans affect student behavior, as measured by bullying, cyberbullying, violent incidents, weapons/bomb threats, suspensions, and attendance; and do they affect school climate, including student perceptions of safety, respect among students and teachers, and the prevalence of bullying and fights? We combine administrative data on the timing of Yondr pouch adoption in New York City public middle and high schools. School incident measures come from the New York State Department of Education’s (NYSED) School Safety and Educational Climate reports and include counts of bullying, cyberbullying, violent incidents, and weapons/threats per 1,000 students. Measures of school climate are from student responses to the New York City School Survey. We also use school data from the NYSED School Report Cards (SRC), including attendance measures (rate and chronic absenteeism), school compositional characteristics (share Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, female, eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and English language learners), and Title I status.To estimate Yondr adoption on student behavior and school climate, we use a staggered-differences-in-differences design, estimated via stacked event studies that account for staggered treatment timing and allow tests of pre-treatment trends and dynamic effects. To account for differences in school characteristics and shocks, we include school and year fixed effects. We explore heterogeneity across school levels and characteristics. We find that Yondr adoption improves dimensions of school climate, particularly in high schools. Adoption is associated with declines in severe behavioral incidents, including suspensions, violent incidents, and weapons/threats.We observe a modest reduction in chronic absenteeism. These changes are not reflected in students’ perceptions of climate, which remain unchanged. However, we observe increases in reports of bullying and cyberbullying. Effects are smaller and less precise in middle schools. Our findings point to meaningful heterogeneity across school levels and outcome measures. These findings suggest that cellphone bans with consistent enforcement mechanisms may improve aspects of student behavior and attendance, particularly by reducing more severe forms of disruption. At the same time, increases in reported bullying highlight the need to consider how cellphone restrictions may reshape conflict rather than eliminate it. As more states adopt bell-to-bell cellphone bans, this study provides evidence on how enforcement-based approaches affect school climate, attendance, and learning.

Author

• Madalyn Romberger, Creighton University
  Presenting Author