(WASHINGTON) — While many states have at least partially banned cellphones in the classroom this back-to-school season, some are still leaving those decisions to their local education agencies, according to a new data analysis conducted by ABC News.

ABC News reached out to the education departments of every state, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by email this summer to discuss the policies.

Overall, 20 states (including D.C. and the Virgin Islands) have completely banned wireless communication devices — including personal phones or tablets — for the entire instructional day. There are, however, exceptions for students with disabilities who have individualized education programs.

In contrast, 17 states — such as Maryland and Wyoming — that have not banned the use of wireless communication devices in schools on the state level.

The remaining 16 states have chosen a more relaxed approach, with some recommending the individual school districts decide their own policies, and others, like Puerto Rico, only requiring a policy to be formed by 2026.

The Department of Education is on a quest to return all education responsibilities and decisions to the states. It leaves cellphone guidance to the local level.

Cellphone usage continues to be one of the most contentious issues for education leaders. Education experts told ABC News that electronic devices stifle engagement, disrupt learning by causing distractions, and create adverse mental-health issues in adolescents.

Thomas Toch, the director of FutureEd — an education policy center at Georgetown University, said he believes using cellphones in schools is generally problematic with the harm outweighing the good.

“It’s a problem,” Toch argued. “We’re trying to get kids to engage, to immerse themselves in the subject at hand, to communicate with their peers, to be part of a learning community,” he said.

“There’s lots of research to suggest that [phones] are very detrimental to students’ levels of concentration and undermine, for those reasons and others, their learning,” Toch added.

‘Even worse after COVID’

The modern smartphone debuted in 2007 — nearly 20 years ago — but school cellphone issues were exacerbated over the last few years, according to educators who spoke to ABC News.

When students returned to the classroom after the COVID-19 pandemic, they brought back their phones, according to Vermont’s Harwood Union Middle and High School Assistant Principal Jessica Deane. She said phones in school have been a problem since their invention, and emphasized that the problem has never been more prominent than since the pandemic.

“I’ve been asking students to put their phones away since 2005,” Deane told ABC News. “It seemed even worse, coming back after COVID.”

Teachers across the country, such as Julia Casey in Missouri, said the new ban has made her job more manageable because she doesn’t have to police students.

“I don’t have to, like, correct that behavior,” Casey said, adding that the ban has helped students “stay on task a lot more.”

‘Bell-to-bell’

The most strict cellphone measures include implementing a “bell-to-bell” school-day ban for this academic year. The bans are mandated in places such as Arkansas, Texas, Virginia and more.

The states require phones be stored separate and away from students.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed an executive order banning phones in her state, too.

“This will help improve focus, mental health and safety — so every student can learn and thrive without distractions,” Kotek said in a recent post on X.

New York City Public Schools, the nation’s largest school district, also has a bell-to-bell policy in place for its nearly one million students, but the schools will be required to provide at least one method for families to reach their children during the school day in the case of an emergency.

In Kansas, the state board of education commissioned a task force — consisting of parents, educators and students — on student screen time, which found that its schools should limit cellphone use, with some school going with a bell-to-bell ban.

“We wanted the local school districts to have that control,” Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson told ABC News. “What we have found is that most school districts in Kansas are implementing a bell-to-bell ban.”

Emergency situations

One of the top concerns for parents and families is their ability to contact their children in case of an emergency.

School safety is the No. 1 priority for educators, according to interviews with city leaders and education officials, especially with the influence of recent school shootings.

For communication purposes, phones can be valuable tools for students during the school day, according to Toch.

“There could be instances where kids don’t … have a way to communicate with family members — or don’t have an ability to communicate a problem that they see and that they might want to use their phone to alert others to,” Toch told ABC News.

Celebrating Washington, D.C.’s bell-to-bell policy, D.C. Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee argued that if there’s an emergency “the last thing we want students to do is to be on their cellphone.”

“We want them to be focused on the guidance and direction that they will be receiving from adults in the situation,” he said.

Kansas Commissioner Watson said any school incident is tragic, but he claimed there was “no evidence” to suggest having cellphones helps in the case of an emergency, according to his conversations with law enforcement.

In his state, Watson said districts are making their own choices and it’s paying off for the students.

“Kids are more engaged,” Watson explained.

“Kids are happier. There’s less bullying that takes place. There’s less distractions academically. That daily behavior goes on and on.”

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