The ban on cell phones in schools has reached all autonomous communities, and in the absence of quantitative results, many Education ministries emphasize that coexistence has improved and there are fewer incidents of cyberbullying.
As the recommendation from the Ministry of Education and the State School Council to prevent the use of cell phones in classrooms, on school grounds, and throughout the school day reaches its one-year mark, all regional governments that had not regulated it have approved rules, resolutions, or instructions.
Most communities, of different political persuasions, agree to prohibit the use of mobile devices absolutely in the Infant and Primary cycles, while some autonomous regions extend the ban to the entire ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education), and almost all maintain their use only for educational purposes and under teacher supervision.
However, there are communities such as Andalusia, Valencia, La Rioja, Navarra, or the Balearic Islands that have approved instructions or resolutions and leave autonomy to the centers to regulate the limitation of different devices according to their digital and coexistence plans.
Data collected through Efe delegations indicate that coexistence and social interaction have improved in schools.
Lucas Gortazar, deputy director of EsadeEcPol, told Efe that "the limited causal evidence we have on banning cell phones in schools shows positive effects on academic performance and student attention and well-being."
In fact, studies such as UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report warn that it takes children 20 minutes to refocus if they are distracted by their phone.
Most communities regulated the use of cell phones between January and February 2024, a few months after the Executive's recommendation, but there are others like Castilla y León that have been banning these devices in classrooms since 2007. Castilla-La Mancha also banned them in 2014, and Galicia in 2015.
Highly Coincidental Regional Regulations
- In Madrid, since the 2020-2021 academic year, the use of mobile phones is prohibited during the school day, including recess, complementary and extracurricular activities, although public and subsidized schools may allow their use according to their educational projects for didactic purposes.
Sources from the ministry indicate that the experience "is being positive" and that they are working on another decree to regulate and limit the use of computers, tablets, or similar devices.
- In Catalonia, mobile devices are prohibited in Primary, while in Secondary, their use is allowed only for pedagogical activities under authorization, although the Generalitat is considering banning them in all cases.
- In Extremadura, an instruction was approved in February 2024 to prohibit cell phones, and they are only allowed for exclusively pedagogical purposes or in exceptional situations, with written authorization from parents or guardians. The ministry comments on "the great benefit to coexistence that this measure has brought."
- The Junta de Andalucía will turn into a rule the instruction it sent in 2023 to all schools to prohibit the use of cell phones except for duly justified pedagogical criteria. The School Council of Andalusia requests that educational use only be applied from the third year of ESO onwards.
- Castilla La Mancha prohibited the use of cell phones in all centers in 2014 and established that they could only be used for pedagogical purposes. According to a sample, student stress has been reduced by 35%.
- Castilla y León has been applying the recommendations of the State School Council for almost two decades to prohibit it from entry to exit, although each center regulates it specifically based on academic conditions and needs.
- In Asturias, according to an instruction approved in February 2024, cell phones cannot enter the classroom in Infant and Primary. In Secondary, Baccalaureate, and FP, they can only be used for justified didactic purposes.
- The Valencian Community approved a resolution in May to prohibit cell phones except for didactic activities or for justified or health reasons. The resolution was issued "respecting the autonomy and the rules of equality and coexistence established in the organization and operation of the educational center." Sources from the Ministry indicate that they have "observed a decrease in incidents of cyberbullying."
- The Xunta de Galicia published a protocol in 2024 that extended the prohibition of cell phone use to the entire school day after it had already prevented its use during school hours in 2015. The Xunta points out that conflicts have been reduced and dialogue between students has been favored.
- In Murcia, the limitation of cell phone use was implemented in January 2024 in all educational stages of public and subsidized schools and throughout the day, unless its use was authorized by the teacher for pedagogical reasons. They point out that cases of cyberbullying have been reduced by 73% and point to an improvement in student results.
- In the Basque Country, in Primary, 85% of centers establish an absolute prohibition, and only 15% admit the use of devices for pedagogical purposes. In ESO, half of the centers allow educational use, and in Baccalaureate, a quarter of public centers prohibit cell phones entirely during school hours. In FP, seven out of ten allow the use of phones for pedagogical purposes.
- The Government of Cantabria is studying approving an order that regulates from the 2025-2026 academic year the prohibition of cell phone use in schools, although this year it has already been applied as an instruction.
- In Navarra, each educational center has autonomy to regulate the use of its devices, whether tablets, smartwatches, cell phones, or headphones, and annually regulates it within its digital center plans and in accordance with its coexistence plans.
- The Ministry of Education of the Balearic Islands has sent guidelines to prohibit the use of cell phones during the school day in Infant and Primary. In ESO and post-compulsory education, its use is allowed if the center's educational project indicates it.
- In the Canary Islands, the use of cell phones is prohibited during the school day and during recesses from February 2024 in all centers and in all its cycles, leaving freedom of action to subsidized and private schools. The Ministry will conduct a survey to assess the impact of the measure.
- In La Rioja, the use of cell phones is prohibited in Primary and Secondary and is only allowed for didactic purposes and under the supervision of a teacher. Each center, through its organization and operation regulations, regulates its use in corridors or patios or if they should leave it in the lockers when they enter the center.
- In Aragon, cell phones cannot be used throughout the school day, recess, and extracurricular activities, except for educational purposes. The measure has been "very well received because it is helping to improve the learning climate."