Teachers are happy with cellphone bans; students are more ambivalent

When the Peninsula School District implemented one of Washington’s first bans on cellphones in the classroom two years ago, Keyna Houston said it could not have come soon enough.

“I was like, ‘thank the Lord,’ ” the Gig Harbor High School English teacher, told Gig Harbor Now and the Kitsap Sun last year. “Finally, I don’t have to fight this battle on my own.”

Unsurprisingly, teachers had by far the most positive reaction to these policies. They reported less stress, better ability to manage their classrooms and social benefits for their students, according to new research out of the University of Washington.

The unpublished study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, offers the first systematic look at how teachers, parents and students in Washington feel about these policies.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/08/22/teachers-are-happy-with-cellphone-bans-students-are-more-ambivalent/