More school district recruiters say having a policy in place to manage student cellphone use during school hours can have a positive impact on teacher recruitment, according to a survey by the EdWeek Research Center and cited in an Education Week article.
Almost a third of district officials responsible for recruiting and retaining teachers—29%—said that such a policy is now a helpful recruiting tactic. That’s up from 20% in a similar survey conducted in 2024.
More than half of recruiters, 59%, reported that their district has a student cellphone policy, but that it has not had an impact—either positive or negative—on recruitment, according to the 2025 survey. That’s compared with 68% in the 2024 survey.
In the past year, many districts have moved to limit student cellphone use during school hours in some way, in part because of changes to state laws.
“I know firsthand from talking with prospective candidates that they have said the phone ban lowers stress for everyone,” says Chimere Stephens, a senior director of recruitment for the New York City public schools. “Teachers tell me all the time that they spend significantly less instructional time managing behavior when phones are removed and more time teaching.”
Teachers with fewer disciplinary headaches are more likely to persist in the profession, he says.
“Classroom disruption, rather than pay alone, is at the top of the list for burnout and resignations from candidates I chat with—especially among first-year teachers,” says Stephens, a 2023 Education Week Leader To Learn From.
Alex Moseman, executive director of talent acquisition for the Knox County school district in Tennessee, has a similar take.
“When you listen to what teachers want, a lot of it boils down to the ability to focus on teaching during the day,” says Moseman, a 2026 Education Week Leader To Learn From. “I think any policy that supports teachers and schools with maintaining a focused learning environment certainly supports the recruitment and retention of educators.”
Education Week
