Did school cellphone bans work? New study finds mixed results.

Schools that adopted strict bans – requiring students to keep their devices in locked pouches throughout the school day – saw a meaningful decline in student cellphone use. — Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash

Banning cellphones was supposed to improve many of the problems ailing American education, including distraction, bullying, declining test scores and absenteeism.

The idea attracted rare, bipartisan support, and over the past three years, two-thirds of states passed laws restricting cellphones in schools.