More than 30 states and D.C. have enacted cell phone bans in recent years, per TIME, with the majority not allowing any communication devices — including tablets and smartwatches — for the entire day, even during lunch. At schools in my home state of Texas, these bans are new for the 2025-2026 school year. It’s only been a few weeks since most districts have gone back to school, and I can’t help but wonder how it’s going so far. My own kids, in third grade and first grade, are too young to be affected, but teachers in middle school and high school are starting to notice big differences.

The Washington Post recently interviewed a few schools with new phone bans to get their take on them. One social studies teacher David Rounds, from Bethlehem High School in Upstate New York, told the outle

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