Story by Olivia Jarman
This fall, North Carolina schools began preparing for a new statewide rule limiting student cell phone use at school. Officially starting January 1, 2026, the idea is simple: fewer distractions and better learning.
At Myers Park High School in Charlotte, Assistant Principal Tyson Jeffus says the problem was easy to spot.
“We started it really last school year, noticing an issue with cell-phone use during the school day,” Jeffus said. “And if there was downtime students would start, they would get on social media, they’d go to snapchat and there would just be stirred up drama.”
To address it, Myers Park now requires students to place their phones in lockboxes the moment class begins.
At North Carolina State University, researchers found 97 percent of students admitted to using their phone during school hours. At Granville Early College, senior Mark Abdelmassih doesn’t like the restrictions.
“I’m not really a big fan of it, to be honest,” Abdelmassih said. “And I know a lot of people aren’t cause like it’s a big part of how we grew up, but it’s definitely been a big change I’ve noticed.”
Yet he also recognizes his own habits.
“I don’t actually like that I’m always on my phone like literally yesterday I was thinking, I was just sitting on my couch on my phone for like an hour, and I was just so disappointed with myself,” Abdelmassih said.
For other students the restrictions are welcome. At Wakefield High School in Raleigh, sophomore Carolina Duke says the rules make sense and she urges students to comply.
“I think it’s just so dumb. I’m like just put your phone up. It’s not like your child, it’s not your baby. Put it up, you’re not gonna like die,” Duke said. (trim) “The people who willing always put up their phones are at school to learn.”
Parents are noticing changes in classrooms too. In Chapel Hill, Julie Merry, a parent in the district as well as a PTA member, says the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We’ve heard nothing but positive things from everyone about it,” Merry said.
She said even her daughter is hearing it from classmates. One girl told the class, “I’ve learned more in the past month this year as a 10th grader than I did in all of ninth grade because of my phone being away,” Merry said.
At UNC Gillings School of Public Health, researcher Karl Johnson has studied the impact of technology in schools.
“You know I think we’ve seen over the last several years how cell-phones in the classroom can be super distracting, used for cheating, used for bullying and coordinating different kinds of fights especially in the kind of middle school, high school level,” Johnson said.
With the statewide ban set to take full effect, schools across North Carolina are still adapting, but many say the difference is already noticeable.
“When you’re at school, you’re at school to learn,” Duke said.
I’m Olivia Jarman, reporting.
