France bans smartphones in schools during all hours of the day

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Cardy/Getty Images

• France just passed a law that bans students from using
  smartphones at school. 
• There are some exceptions, like schools with students
  over 15 and for extracurricular activities and students with
  disabilities. 
•  France had already banned smartphone use during
  class time, but this latest ban extends to breaks and meal
  times. 
• The ban, which will go into effect in September, is
  intended to help students focus in school, and was created out
  of concern that students are becoming addicted to mobile phone
  use.

Starting this school year, French students won’t be seeing much
of their phones during the day. 

France just passed a smartphone ban for students up to 15 years
old that will go into effect in September, the Agence France-Presse reports.
Schools with students older than 15 can choose whether to impose
a phone ban. The country had already enacted a smartphone ban
during class hours, but this legislation will extend to breaks
and meal times, effectively completely banning smartphones from
schools with students under the age of 15.

The law requires that schools either prohibit smartphones or have
students turn them off during the day. There will be exceptions
for students with disabilities, or if smartphones are needed
for extracurricular activities. 

This ban stems from a fear that students are becoming far too
dependent on and distracted by their smartphones, but some
critics from both sides of the aisle in France are saying that
the ban won’t accomplish much, and presents logistical problems
such as phone storage.

For the most part, phone bans are left to the discretion of
schools in other areas of the world.
In the UK, some schools have completely banned phones, while
others have lax restrictions. The Swedish government hasn’t
banned phone use in school, but
Swedish students appear to support schools banning phones in
classrooms. New York City had a
cell phone ban for students in the area — a policy which
Mayor de Blasio lifted in 2015. It was found that the New York
ban was being disproportionately enforced at schools in
low-income areas that had security measures like metal detectors,
and families had to pay for the on-site phone storage out of
their own pockets.

In light of this, France’s approach is somewhat unusual, as the
decision on whether to ban phone is usually left to the specific
school in other countries.