Public Opinion Survey on Voters’ Views on Phones in Schools

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Overwhelming support from voters: 80% of voters support bell-to-bell smartphone bans in schools.
• 91% of parents whose children are in schools with bell-to-bell bans support the policy.
• The distraction problem is clear: 79% of voters who support bans say phones are too distracting and that removing them helps students focus on learning. Research shows students remain distracted even if they only have phone access during breaks.
• Most students are missing the potential benefits of being in a bell-to-bell school: Only 26% of parents report their child's school has a full-day phone storage policy - — meaning most students are subject to distractions and harms that would be mitigated by bell-to-bell policies.
• Bipartisan consensus: Support for phone bans crosses party lines, with strong majorities backing policies that protect children's ability to learn and develop healthy social connections during the school day. 

Frequency Questionnaire (October 22-27, 2025)

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These are some reasons that some people support "bell-to-bell" smartphone bans that prevent students from accessing their smartphones all day, including during lunch and breaks. For each, please indicate how convincing it is to you on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all convincing and 10 is very convincing.

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Survey methodology:

GQR and American Viewpoint conducted a 20-minute mixed-mode text-to-web and online survey among 800 registered voters in theUnited States from October 22-27, 2025. The survey used voter file sample to reach text-to-web respondents and contacted online respondents from a panel sample of United States residents, who were then matched to the voter file to verify their eligibility. There are 332 parents of children under age 18, 296parents of children between ages 5 and 18, and 239 parents of children between ages 11 and 18. Data are weighted on the demographics of registered voters, including gender, age, race, education, and parental status, and the non probability online panel data are additionally calibrated to the probability-based text-to-web data based on frequency of survey participation and political interest. If this entire survey was based on a probability sample, the margin of error would be+/- 4.5 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 7 percentage points for the parents subsample, The margin of error is higher among subgroups. Because the online sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation in the panel rather than a probability sample, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. In this report, results are expressed as percentages unless otherwise noted. Results may not add to 100% due to rounding or multiple responses. Net results cited in the text may not exactly match individual results shown in the charts due to rounding.

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Click here for fact sheet PDF

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