Overview
- The NBER team reports little to no change in grades after schools restricted or blocked phone use.
- The study spans 2018 to 2025 across more than 40,000 schools and blends grades, surveys, GPS data, and vendor records from Yondr.
- Phone use dropped sharply under strict enforcement, with in-class use falling from 61% to 13% and on-campus activity down about 30% by year three.
- Attendance, class participation, and reported cyberbullying showed no meaningful shifts under the bans.
- Many schools saw more discipline cases and lower student wellbeing in the first year, which eased by the second year as students adapted.