Should smartphones be banned in K-12 schools nationwide?

The strongest evidence for a ban comes from the London School of Economics, where researchers studied schools before and after phone bans and found test scores rose, with the biggest gains among the lowest-achieving students. That last detail is the whole argument: affluent kids have tutors, quiet bedrooms, and parents who enforce screen rules at home, while disadvantaged students get none of that backup. The classroom is the one place where the playing field can be leveled, but only if the distraction is actually removed rather than managed. Opponents call bans blunt, and they are, like a seatbelt is blunt. The students who need the protection most are the least able to protect themselves. A nationwide ban would do for attention what free school meals did for nutrition: guarantee the baseline for everyone. LSE