Florida student test scores improve under cellphone ban, new study says

After Florida banned cellphones in schools, student test scores rose and attendances improved, although student suspension rates skyrocketed, according to a new study.

The study analyzed Florida after lawmakers passed HB 379^[1] in 2023 to ban students from using their cellphones during class time, unless it’s for educational purposes and led by a teacher.

“We find significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban after that initial adjustment period,” University of Rochester^[2] economist David Figlio and Umut Özek, a senior economist at the RAND Corporation^[3], wrote in “The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida^[4].”

“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.”

Overall test scores increased by 0.6 percentiles compared to scores nationwide, “with the ban increasing spring test scores 1.1 percentiles in the second year relative to the spring test right before the ban took effect,” the study said.

But the survey also found that more students were suspended shortly after the policy was implemented.

“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,” the researchers wrote.

“Suspension rate more than doubled in the month after disciplinary enforcement started compared to the month before and was 25 percent higher compared to the same month in the school year right before the ban.”

The higher suspension rates lasted throughout the first year at school and then returned to normal in the second year under the new rules.

Other consequences from the cellphone ban included some students missing out when teachers use digital materials in class.

“Restricting the use of smartphones in classrooms could hinder student access to these digital resources especially in disadvantaged school settings where smartphones serve as the primary device for students to access these resources,” the study said.

Plus, some parents worry about reaching their children in case of an emergency.

“Cellphone bans are not a silver bullet,” Figlio told the Hetchinger Report^[5] about his findings. “But they seem to be helping kids. They’re attending school more, and they’re performing a bit better on tests.”

The Hetchinger Report said the study is a draft working paper that has not been peer reviewed and is scheduled to be circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research^[6].