Brazil Is Making Students Put Away Their Smartphones At School
Brazilian students returned to class this week with a new task: staying away from their smartphones as a new law restricting their use in schools took effect.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a bill in January limiting smartphone access at schools, in line with a trend seen in the U.S. and Europe. It applies to public and private schools, and applies to classrooms and the halls.
Phones are still allowed for educational purposes, with the teacher’s permission, and when needed for the student’s accessibility and health. Schools can set their own guidelines, such as whether students can keep phones in backpacks or store them in lockers or designated baskets.
Before the federal law, most of Brazil’s 26 states, including Rio de Janeiro, Maranhao and Goias, had already applied some restrictions to phone use in schools. As of 2023, nearly two-thirds of Brazilian schools had some limitations, with 28% banning them entirely, according to a survey last year by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee.
But rules varied between states and between schools, and authorities and administrators struggled with enforcement.
