Parents and teachers who believe smartphones have had a detrimental impact on students’ learning have fresh evidence to support their concerns – and it points to the very outcome they suspected.
The findings come in the form of new data from the Dallas Independent School District – the second-largest district in Texas – where officials say student reading has climbed following implementation of the state’s new law restricting cell phone use in schools.
Between the start of the school year and March 31, students checked out more than 1.08 million books in Dallas ISD, compared to roughly 872,000 during the same stretch a year earlier – a gain of more than 200,000 books, or about 24%, according to data shared with CBS News.
District leaders attribute the increase to reduced phone access during the school day, noting that students who once turned to screens are now spending more time in libraries and engaging with books.
Hillcrest High School librarian Nina Canales said students are more focused in class – and less distracted during downtime. Even better, students are developing a renewed interest in reading.
