In this 2026 back-to-school season, France takes a new step in regulating mobile phones at school. Already banned in use in preschools, primary schools, and middle schools since 2018, it is now also banned in high schools. For the first time, the principle thus covers the entire schooling period, from kindergarten to high school.
This French development is part of a broader movement. In a few years, restrictions on smartphones have multiplied across educational systems worldwide, driven by concerns about concentration, screen time, cyberbullying, and the place of digital technology in teenagers’ lives.
And Tunisia? It is not outside this trend. The country already has a restrictive framework, introduced since 2019 and strengthened multiple times, notably in 2024 and then in 2026. The international comparison thus raises a different question: beyond the ban, what practices truly protect school time?
The essentials
- Since the 2026 school year, the ban on mobile phones extends to French high schools, after elementary and middle schools.
- UNESCO recorded at the start of 2026 114 educational systems applying a national ban, i.e., 58% of the countries monitored.
- Studies clearly show a reduction in distractions, but the effects on academic results and well-being remain more debated.
- In Tunisia, a framework has existed since 2019 and was strengthened in 2024 and 2026.
- The debate now focuses as much on practical implementation, digital education, and family involvement as on the ban itself.
What changes in France in the 2026 school year
The ban is not new in French institutions. Since 2018, the use of mobile phones has already been banned in kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools. High school had until now been the last level not subject to the same general principle.
After its definitive adoption by Parliament on July 21, 2026, the new legislation was promulgated on August 24, 2026. It now allows extending the ban to high schools from this school year.
The stated objective is to keep the phone out of sight for the entire time the student is present in the establishment. The practical modalities, however, are defined by the institutions: device kept in a bag, locker, pocket, deposit system, or other arrangement provided for by the school’s internal regulations.
Exceptions remain possible, particularly for certain students with disabilities or when the use of a device is expressly authorized in an educational setting.
An experiment started as early as 2024
France proceeded in stages. In the 2024 school year, the “digital pause” was tested in more than 200 institutions, affecting more than 32,000 middle school students.
The principle was to make the phone effectively inaccessible during the school day, according to various solutions chosen locally. The program was then extended to public middle schools starting with the 2025 school year.
Lycées, moreover, did not all wait for the new legislation: according to an internal survey by the French Ministry of Education conducted in January 2026, 28% of the high schools surveyed were already applying a comparable device.
The school digital world itself is more tightly regulated
The French strategy concerns not only smartphones in classrooms. It is accompanied by a principle of “reasoned digital use”.
New information and updates distributed via the digital workspaces and some school software are now suspended by default between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., as well as from Friday 8:00 p.m. to Monday 7:00 a.m..
The aim is therefore not only to limit phone use during classes but also to preserve periods of disconnection outside the institution.
A global evolution that is very rapid
According to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report tracking, the share of countries with a national ban on phones in schools has moved from:
24% in June 2023 → 40% early 2025 → 58% early 2026.
In total, 114 education systems were affected as of early 2026.
Netherlands, Brazil, Italy… restrictions are multiplying
France thus joins an international movement that has accelerated sharply since 2023. The Netherlands restricted phones in secondary schools from January 2024 before extending the rules to primary schools. Brazil adopted in January 2025 a federal law governing their use in institutions hosting young people aged 4 to 17.
Other countries, including Italy, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Hungary, or South Korea, have also adopted or strengthened their devices, with models that differ substantially: ban in classrooms, phone stored all day, deposit at the entrance, or possibilities of use in certain educational settings.
| Country | Situation | Uniqueness |
|---|---|---|
| France | National ban | From kindergarten to high school since the 2026 school year |
| Tunisia | Ministerial restrictive framework | Measures introduced in 2019 and strengthened in 2024 and 2026 |
| Netherlands | National restrictions | Phones kept out of classes since 2024 |
| Brazil | Federal law | Restrictions for students aged 4 to 17 since 2025 |
Why are governments tightening the rules?
The primary motive is distraction. Messages, social networks, videos, and notifications can directly compete with the attention required during lessons.
Added to this are concerns about screen time, sleep, fatigue, cyberbullying, exposure to certain content, and teenagers’ ability to maintain social interactions without constant mediation by the smartphone.
In France, an Ipsos study conducted in 2025 for the National Center for Books estimated that 15-19 year-olds spend on average 5 hours and 19 minutes per day in front of screens. This figure does not refer solely to the phone nor to school time, but it illustrates the prominence of screens in young people’s daily lives.
Do bans actually improve outcomes?
Initial experiments yield encouraging results, but research cannot yet conclude that a ban alone is sufficient to sustainably improve students’ performance or well-being.
In the Netherlands, a study commissioned by authorities across 317 secondary schools showed that three-quarters reported an improvement in concentration after restricting phones. Nearly two-thirds noted an improvement in social climate and about a third mentioned better academic results.
In Brazil, researchers studied the vast municipal network of Rio de Janeiro, which includes more than 1,000 schools. In schools that previously had no ban or only weak restrictions, observed gains were higher by 25.7% in mathematics and 13.4% in Portuguese compared to schools that already enforced strict rules.
What the research actually says
Results do not all point in the same direction. A review of 22 studies conducted in 12 countries estimated that the available evidence was insufficient to conclude that a general ban systematically improves academic results, mental health, or well-being.
The consensus seems stronger on one point: reducing access to the smartphone during class hours limits distractions. However, a school ban does not necessarily reduce total phone usage across the entire day.
A study conducted by the University of Birmingham among 1,227 adolescents across 30 English schools did not find a significant improvement in academic performance, sleep, or well-being between schools applying strong restrictions and others.
However, restrictions did reduce phone and social networks usage during school time. For researchers, the challenge is therefore to pair the school rule with a broader reflection on usage outside of school.
And in Tunisia?
Tunisia already has a framework aimed at limiting phone use in educational institutions. A circular from the Ministry of Education dated September 18, 2019 addressed the ban on using mobile phones in schools.
Instructions were strengthened at the end of 2024, notably regarding smartphones. Then, on February 21, 2026, the Ministry of Education published a new note on securing institutions and preventing violence.
The text reaffirms the prohibition on students introducing or using a mobile phone in educational institutions. It also regulates taking photographs within the school grounds, which must be limited to officially authorized situations.
Tunisia: three milestones to remember
2019 : establishment of an initial ministerial framework on the use of the mobile phone in schools.
2024 : strengthening of the instructions, notably concerning smartphones.
2026 : new note reaffirming the ban on introducing or using a mobile phone in educational institutions.
Tunisia is therefore not arriving after the international movement
The comparison with France should not be understood as a contrast between a country that banned smartphones and one that did not. Tunisia had already pursued this policy years before the French extension to high schools.
Differences lie more in the modalities chosen. In several countries, regulations are now accompanied by precise hardware or organizational solutions: lockers, pouches, temporary deposit of devices, adaptation of internal regulations, or special procedures to allow families to reach their children in emergencies.
International experience thus offers avenues that can inform thinking about the practical application of rules, without challenging their underlying principle.
Banning the phone is not enough to learn to live with digital technology
That is probably the main lesson emerging from international experiences. Excluding the smartphone during school time helps create an environment less exposed to digital solicitations, but young people return to their screens once they leave the institution.
Educational policies are therefore gradually aiming to couple restrictions with other dimensions: awareness of social networks, media literacy, prevention of cyberharassment, family support, and learning to use digital technology responsibly.
For Tunisia, the question is thus no longer simply whether to limit the smartphone at school: a framework already exists and has been strengthened. The challenge for the coming years will be mainly to leverage international experiences to reconcile protection of school time, families’ needs, and preparing students for a world where digital technology will remain omnipresent.
