Back-to-school supplies and clothing pictured at a Walmart in Middletown, Illinois on July 24, 2025.

I have a love-hate relationship with my kids' smartphones. So I was relieved when I saw that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed legislation that bans cell phones in public schools.

School starts soon for us, and as a parent with children who have had phones at school, I'm glad to see the ban go into effect this 2025-26 school year.

“Educators and researchers have raised concerns about the impact that smartphones have on student learning and student engagement,” Abbott said. “Experts have explained that smartphones and social media affect the mental health of children. If we are going to be number one in education, it is going to require the undivided attention of our students in the classroom.”

In my kids' district, elementary and middle school students previously have been discouraged from using phones. But high school students were allowed to use them in class. In fact, it seemed as if some teachers encouraged cell phone use for schoolwork.

I would receive texts from my kids at school about all manner of things and an occasional email from a teacher that one of my children had been on their phone when they were supposed to be listening.

Some parents have concerns about whether their children would be able to reach them during emergencies. I hope they still can. But I also hope that schools remain firm in enforcing the new state policy. If students cannot arbitrarily access their phones during school hours, it will be a net good for everyone.

States banning phones in schools is a growing trend

Texas joins more than a dozen states that have enacted bans on phones. More states have some kind of anti-cell phones in school policy than don't. In 2023, Florida banned phones in middle and elementary schools, with looser restrictions in high schools. Now Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed a bill that requires "bell-to-bell" cell phone-free classrooms in public K–12 schools. New York has a similar policy.

Most educators agree with these measures, perhaps because they've seen firsthand the problems with kids having phones. According to Pew Research Center's 2024 polling data, 72% of high school teachers say phone distractions are a major problem.

A June 2025 Pew poll found that 74% of U.S. adults say they support banning middle and high school students from using phones during class, up from 68% the prior year.

Smartphones are a land mine for kids, parents and educators

As a parent, phones have been more of a land mine than I thought they would be. I was cautious at first about their use, but I also could see the practical benefits, especially for logistics. What if my child needs to be picked up from practice early? What if my child needs to contact me while at a friend's house?

But smartphones also open a world of issues I couldn't have predicted when I purchased them for my older children years ago. I now regret that I did − and not even because of the worst dangers such as online predators.

One of the hardest things to combat is how phones rewire kids' brains, so that they crave 24/7 access to the internet for entertainment and connecting with friends. Few things can capture a kid's attention faster than a notification on their phone. Even with house rules in place, it's an ongoing matter of discussion and tension. Using phones at school exacerbates the problems.

But bans on the use of smartphones at school give me hope that students will begin to connect with the real world.

Research backs this up. In an Aug. 4 article in The Atlantic, "What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones," writers Lenore Skenazy, Zach Rausch and Jonathan Haidt noted that many children have more freedom to roam virtual worlds than the real one we inhabit.

But deep down, the writers conclude, children want and need real-life interactions.

Without phones in school, students are more likely to socialize with their peers. They're more likely to have real experiences and make real friends.

And that's better for educators, parents and kids.

Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas just banned smartphones at school. I regret ever buying my kids one. | Opinion

Reporting by Nicole Russell, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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