Banning Cell Phones During the Entire School Day

This week’s newsletter focuses on reclaiming children’s attention and improving student outcomes. I make the case in a new Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed that states should ban smartphones for the entire school day—an argument reinforced by Paragon’s recent literature review on the topic. I also highlight Rhode Island’s 2025 legislation requiring schools to make student cell phones inaccessible for the entire school day, and survey data from nearly 3,000 teachers showing that full-day bans are most effective at minimizing classroom disruption.

The newsletter also contains an update on state health reforms, with Indiana’s important legislation implementing key Medicaid provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) advancing to the governor’s desk and Medicaid managed care transparency legislation passing the Utah House. Finally, I discuss a new Paragon PIC that shows a widening divergence in Medicare base payment rate changes between hospitals and physicians.

Cell Phones in Schools Undermine Learning and Relationship Formation

As a father of five, I see what excessive screen time does to children. It “crowds out focus, conversation, and real connection.” Smartphones are omnipresent in our lives, particularly for our nation’s children. They shape how our kids communicate, spend their time, and think—and a growing body of research shows that without clear limits, they cause harm.

In a March 3 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed, I argue that if policymakers are serious about child well-being, they should ban smartphones during the school day. This means locking up phones from the morning bell to the end of the last class, as we advise in our brief guide for state policymakers.

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement reflects a real concern: parents worry about the forces shaping their children’s well-being, including their habits, attention, friendships, and character. Nutrition and exercise matter—but so does the daily environment in which children spend much of their time. Several studies show that adolescent anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption have risen alongside the rapid expansion of smartphone and social media use.

This is not about being anti-technology. It is about restoring schools as places for focused learning and genuine relationship formation. When smartphones are allowed throughout the day, teachers are “forced to compete with algorithm-driven platforms engineered to capture attention.” Even partial restrictions—allowing phones at lunch or between classes—let smartphones and personal devices continue to exercise a gravitational pull on students’ minds. Retreating to one’s phone becomes an escape that stifles real connections.

New research from Paragon strengthens the case for bell-to-bell bans. In a recent literature review, professors David Marshall and Tim Pressley examined the real-world effects of school phone policies. Their findings are clear: bell-to-bell bans are associated with meaningful improvements in academic performance and student behavior, especially among lower-achieving students. Partial measures do not deliver the same results. Only comprehensive school-day bans materially change student behavior and improve outcomes.

Importantly, this reform aligns with parental empowerment. Many parents work hard to set boundaries at home, only to see those efforts undermined throughout the school day. A consistent, bell-to-bell policy “ensures that for several hours each day, every child operates under the same rules—focused on learning rather than scrolling.”

Education policy rests primarily with states and local districts. Governors and legislatures can act now, and many already have. Jurisdictions with partial bans should enact complete, bell-to-bell bans. The federal government can provide leadership and highlight successful models. If policymakers move quickly, reforms could be in place by the start of the next school year.

“Attention is the foundation of academic achievement. Relationships are the foundation of social development.” Reclaiming both starts with banning cell phones for the entire school day. On a personal note, as a parent, I believe banning cell phones in school is about the most important action policymakers can take to help America’s youth, including my children.

Bill Spotlight: Rhode Island’s Smartphone Restrictions

Our second Bill Spotlight examines Rhode Island’s recently enacted statewide smartphone restriction in its schools. Signed into law on June 26, 2025, the legislation requires every public school to adopt a policy ensuring that students do not have physical access to smartphones and similar devices at any point during the entire school day, including non-instructional periods. Districts must file their plans with the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Consistent with Paragon’s literature review, comprehensive bell-to-bell bans are associated with improved focus and behavior, particularly among lower-achieving students, while easing enforcement burdens by eliminating case-by-case discretion, student appeals, and attempts to circumvent partial restrictions that place additional enforcement burdens on teachers and staff.

Teachers: Ban Phones to Minimize Classroom Disruption

A new Paragon PIC highlights findings from a spring 2024 survey of nearly 3,000 educators showing that restricting smartphone use only during instructional time is not enough to prevent classroom disruption. Disruption is lowest when schools require phones to be stored away and inaccessible all day. When students are allowed to keep phones—even if the policy bans phones during class—disruption rises sharply, especially when teachers set their own rules. Discretionary policy leads to inconsistent enforcement. Teacher surveys support bell-to-bell smartphone bans that require phones to be stored away rather than partial or discretionary policies that still disrupt learning.

State Health Reform Update: Progress in Indiana and Utah

Our inaugural Bill Spotlight highlighted legislation in Indiana that has now passed both chambers and is awaiting Governor Mike Braun’s signature. This legislation would make Indiana the first state to operationalize key elements of the OBBB. The legislation expands program integrity measures, requires more frequent eligibility reviews, and implements work and community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults. It also increases oversight of the Rural Health Transformation Program to ensure funding flows to rural communities and promotes wellness by prohibiting SNAP purchases of soda and candy. When signed into law, Indiana will become an early model for states seeking to focus Medicaid on the truly vulnerable by enhancing accountability, restoring fiscal discipline, and encouraging work for able-bodied adults.

In Utah, House Bill 566 is advancing transparency in Medicaid managed care. The bill has passed the House and now heads to a Senate committee. It would require the state Medicaid agency to collect and publish detailed encounter data through a public dashboard, including spending on medical services and prescription drugs, emergency room utilization, zero-claim enrollees, and state-directed payments. The legislation requires managed care organizations (MCOs) to publicly disclose payment error rates and documents submitted directly to the federal government. The reporting requirements extend to related parties—such as parent companies, pharmacy benefit managers, and affiliated health care facilities—entities often used to obscure spending flows. Managed care is now the predominant way Medicaid is financed. By bringing sunlight to managed care financing, Utah’s proposal would strengthen accountability to legislators, taxpayers, and the vulnerable populations Medicaid was intended to serve.

Medicare Base Payment Rates: Hospitals Up, Physician Rates Down

Over the past decade, Medicare’s base payment rates have moved in opposite directions for hospitals and physicians. As a new Paragon PIC demonstrates, the base payment rate hospitals receive for inpatient services has increased by roughly 30 percent, and outpatient base rates have risen by about 26 percent since 2016. Over that same period, the physician fee schedule conversion factor—Medicare’s base rate for physician services—has declined by about 7 percent.

These trends largely stem from statutory payment formulas. The result is a widening gap in Medicare’s base payment rates across provider types. This divergence raises concerns about incentives within Medicare and the broader health system, particularly as policymakers consider site-neutral payment reforms and long-term fiscal sustainability.