Mobile Phones Now Banned in Schools Across Australia

Mobile phones in Australian schools are now banned under federal law in a policy announced by Minister for Education Jason Clare today. In July, Mr. Clare said the time had come for a national policy on phones in state schools. The policy creates uniformity with state education stakeholders, many of whom had some sort of policy already in place in their territories. Allowing children to access smartphones during school hours has long been a contentious issue. Proponents of a ban point towards an announcement in July 2023 from UNESCO, the United Nation’s education, science, and culture agency that concluded students’ learning was disrupted when distracted by smartphones in class....