SafeTech NC is proud to be provide organizational support for a new statewide movement: Distraction-Free Scholls NC Our grassroots volunteers from all over NC focus on supporting statewide legislation to create phone-free public schools from the first bell to the final bell of the school day – or “bell-to-bell” policies, as well as reducing all tech use. While SafeTech NC has been providing statewide education for the past decade on why and how to reduce wireless radiation from cell phones, Wi-Fi, and other wireless devices, there are a host of other immediate and chronic effects from excessive tech use by children. The NC General Assembly is currently in its “short session” and we are working to provide education about why passing a bell-to-bell policy is critical NOW for our kids. Our Policy Brief below – created with our community partners – is a concise summary of these effects.
Policy Brief: The Case for Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone-Free Schools
The data is clear: The farther away the phone, and the more restrictive the policy, the better the outcomes, including happier teachers. These are the findings from the Phones in Focus survey of 86,000+ teachers from 50 U.S. states, conducted by the Univ. of PA and funded by the National Governors’ Association. As of May 24, 2026, 24 states and Washington, D.C., have already passed bell-to-bell policies—from the first bell to the last bell of the day. While NC took a step forward with its 2025 “instructional time” policy (H 959), the current framework earned our state a ‘C’ grade on the 2026 Phone-Free Schools State Report Card. This partial restriction still allows students to access their addictive devices at least during lunch and between classes, and creates stunning challenges with enforcement and distraction.
Yet the reality of when students are actually using phones at school is made clear in the new study by UNC’s Winston Center: Middle and high school students spend an average of one-third of the school day on their phones during all class periods. One in four students spend more than three hours on their phones (especially high schoolers). Social media made up 70% of students’ screen time. Addictive algorithms plus easy access to smartphones all day results in reduced “cognitive control” and “self-control failure”—the inability to resist short-term gratification (checking social media) in favor of long-term achievement. (Telzer, EH, Burnell, K, 2026)
Evidence from NC’s own Granville and Brunswick counties, alongside national longitudinal studies, confirms that bell-to-bell policies are a low-cost, high-impact intervention. Data shows significant improvements in academic test scores and attendance, plus sharp decreases in classroom disturbances and bullying. Enacting a statewide, bell-to-bell policy will definitively protect our students and relieve at least 105 NC school districts and thousands of teachers from fighting this daily academic and behavioral battle alone.
| Key Benefits of Bell-to-Bell, Phone-Free Schools | |
| Academic
Performance |
Global Gains: UK schools saw test scores rise by 6.4% (Beland, LP, 2016). Norway reported significant GPA increases and higher enrollment in rigorous tracks. (Abrahamsson, 2024) US Growth: Florida saw a 50% improvement in test scores by year two. (NBER 2025) NC Success: Brunswick Co. Schools increased proficiency an average of 4.6% over three years. Granville County increased proficiency by 4% over two years . ( Johnson, K., Winborn, S. 2025). All studies noted above showed that low-income students benefitted most in their test scores. |
| Cognitive Focus | Eliminate “Brain Drain”: Research shows the mere presence of a smartphone (even in a pocket) reduces cognitive capacity, even when students are focused on the task at hand. (Ward, 2017).
Distance Matters: UPenn’s Phones in Focus study found “the farther the phone, the more restrictive the policy, the better the outcomes.” (Duckworth, 2026). |
| School Safety | Emergency Readiness: The National Assoc. of School Resource Officers found students are safer in shooter incidents without phones, with 100% of their focus on the teacher in front of them, providing safety instructions. Bell-to-bell policies reduce social isolation, a risk factor among former school shooters. Reduced Conflict: Granville Co’s School Resource Officers report “at least 90% of the problems we deal with come from students’ phones. If you eliminate this…you eliminate a lot of the issues that cause us to have to step in.”
Expert Consensus: 86% of administrators surveyed by RAND in 2025 endorsed the safety benefits of bell-to-bell policies, including reductions in cyber-bullying and drug trafficking. |
| Attendance,
Engagement, Discipline |
More “Seat Time”: Florida’s large-scale study of 260,000+ students saw a significant drop in chronic absenteeism (NBER, 2025). NC’s Brunswick County reduced lost instructional days by 38%.
Engagement: MA’s largest high school, Brockton, found significant improvements in students’ concentration, communication, and relationships with teachers (McCaskill, K., 2025). UPenn’s study found classrooms with instructional-time policies were more likely to report difficulties with student engagement, especially in high school. (Duckworth, 2026) Discipline in NC: Brunswick Co’s out-of-school suspensions dropped 67% (Heinz, R, Cole, D, 2025) Granville County saw a 25% reduction in long-term suspensions. (Johnson, K, Winborne, S. 2025) |
| Mental Health
& Social Development |
Reduced Need for Counseling: Norway’s gold-standard study found a 60% decrease in demand for mental health services, pointing to a potential cost savings. (Abrahamsson, 2024) Social Reconnection: Educators report a 70% improvement in verbal communication and eye contact during breaks. Safety Net: Numerous schools report significant reductions in cyberbullying and social isolation (risk factors for school violence). (NASRO 2025; Dowdell, EB et al, 2022) |
| Teacher Satisfaction & Retention | Educator Support: 83% of members of the National Education Association (NEA) support policies prohibiting use of electronic devices during the entire school day. Instructional time policies create an exhausting enforcement burden on teachers.
Retention: With NC ranking 43rd in teacher pay, and neighboring states of GA, SC, and VA with bell-to-bell policies, NC needs a policy to improve teacher satisfaction and retention. |
Implementation: For information about storage solutions, consequences and communication with the school community, PhoneFreeSchoolsMovement.org provides a comprehensive Administrators’ Toolkit.
Budget Storage Ideas: Schools in Ohio and Vermont have successfully implemented bell-to-bell policies at almost no cost. This 15-minute video illustrates how they handle phone collection and storage, including the use of simple padded envelopes or pencil pouches stored in milk crates, collected at the school’s entrance. Watch the video at Phone-Free Schools on a Budget or www.distractionfreeschools.com/advocacyresources.
Peer-Reviewed References & Data Sources
- Abrahamsson, S., Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes & Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 2024
- Dowdell, EB et al, (2022) School Shooters: Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Bullying, and Social Media, Journal of Pediatric Health Care, Vol 36, Issue 4, 339 – 346
- Duckworth, A., Phones in Focus study, Univ. of PA, 2026 com/news/2025-10-09-the-stricter-the-
- Beland, L. P., & Murphy, R. (2016). “ILL Communication: Tech, Distraction & Student Performance.” Labour Economics.
- Johnson, K., Winborne, S., Presentation to the NC School Board Association’s Annual Convention, Nov 2025
- National Assoc of Educators’ Impact of Social Media and Personal Devices on Mental Health, 8/12/24; https://www.nea.org/resource-library/impact-social-media-and-personal-devices-mental-health
- NBER: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025, Paper No. 34388, summary of study by Figlio, D., & Özek, U. “The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida.”
- RAND Corporation, 2025, “Principals See Many Benefits of Cell Phone Policies” 10/07/25
- Smart-Phone Free Childhood USA (2026) Phone-Free Schools Report Card https://phonefreeschoolsreport.org/
- Telzer EH, Burnell K. Smartphone Use During School Hours and Association With Cognitive Control. JAMA Network Open. 2026;9(3) e261092. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.1092
- Ward, Adrian F., et al. (2017) “Brain drain: The mere presence of one’s own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity.” Journal of the association for consumer research2. 140-154.
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