(By Liam Hibbert and the Center Square) — (The Center Square) – Following a state law passed last year, Colorado public school districts are now required to enforce a phone policy for students.

The effort to curb student phone use has quickly spread across the U.S. in recent years. Legislation in Colorado recently mandated school districts to create phone policies ahead of the 2026-27 school year, but left the details up to the districts.

Advocates applauded the law, but said the state still lagged behind much of the country on phone ban policies.

“We know that cellphones have become extremely addictive for everyone – but especially for students – and we think that overall our schools will be happier and more instruction-friendly places without phones,” Krista Spurgin, executive director of Stand for Children Colorado, an education advocacy group, told The Center Square.

The school phone use issue has developed in recent years, with an estimated 95% of teens in the U.S. owning or having access to a smartphone, according to a January report from the Paragon Health Institute. More than 90% of educators surveyed in 2024 by the group said mental health was a serious issue in schools, with schools reporting fewer behavioral issues, less bullying and improved classroom engagement when phone ban policies were in place.

Stand for Children Colorado has been an advocate for school districts to enforce what they call a bell-to-bell phone policy, meaning that students can’t use their phones at all during the school day.

A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found 68% of U.S. adults supported in-class phone bans, while a recent Denver Public Schools district survey found 76% of educators and 64% of the community supported a bell-to-bell phone ban policy.

The Colorado law to force the creation of school district phone policies, the Communication Devices in School law, House Bill 25-1135, was signed in 2025 and required policies by July 1, 2026.

“Policies must outline when students can possess or use devices, with exceptions for disability accommodations, medical needs, and emergencies,” the Colorado Department of Education said in an email to The Center Square.

“The goal is to reduce distractions and cyberbullying while promoting student focus, safety, and well-being,” the CDE said.

The Colorado law gives school districts the freedom to choose their own student phone policies, unlike the majority of states.

As of December 2025, Campus Safety Magazine reported that 35 states had already implemented some law or policies restricting phone use, with 27 states banning phone use in schools across the state. The first statewide ban came in 2023 in Florida.

“I would say we’re actually behind,” Spurgin said about Colorado.

“Colorado has essentially said district by district will determine their own phone policies,” Spurgin said. “Colorado can be bolder in standing up for what our school districts look like.”

Colorado’s 20 largest public school districts took four different approaches to phone policies ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

More than three-quarters of Colorado’s largest public school districts – 16 districts – will enforce a bell-to-bell ban for K-8. Five districts will go a step further by enforcing the bell-to-bell ban for K-12, while 11 districts opted for only an instructional time ban for high school students. Three of Colorado’s largest school districts will enforce only the instructional time ban for all grades K-12, while Cherry Creek School District will let individual schools decide their phone policies, according to Colorado education reporting group Chalkbeat.

Spurgin added that every Colorado public school district met the July 1 phone policy announcement deadline.

While the direct impact of school phone bans can be difficult to measure, Spurgin said Stand for Children will be looking at a number of metrics from mental health to behavior and class engagement. One surprise was the impact on libraries reported by some schools with bell-to-bell phone bans.

“Librarians are seeing hundreds of more books checked out,” Spurgin said.