Phone bans at school: the rules and what parents can do

As of October 2026, this is the picture. The rules are changing quickly, so if in doubt, ask your child's school.

• Baden-Württemberg: by the 2026/27 school year, every school must set out in its rules whether and when phones may be used. A ban is allowed.
• Bavaria: in grades 1 to 7, private use on school grounds is ruled out. From grade 8, the school decides.
• Berlin: each school sets its own phone rules in its house rules.
• Brandenburg: at primary and special schools, private devices must be switched off and put away during lessons since 2025/26.
• Bremen (city): private use has been prohibited at primary schools and lower secondary level since June 2025.
• Hamburg and Lower Saxony: every school must adopt binding rules. For primary schools, the recommendation is not to use smartphones.
• Hesse: private use has been generally prohibited at all public schools since 2025/26, including during breaks.
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: schools must set their own rules. The state recommends no private use up to grade 9.
• North Rhine-Westphalia: all public schools have had binding rules since autumn 2025, and about half ban phones completely during school.
• Rhineland-Palatinate: a ban up to grade 10 is planned for 1 February 2027.
• Saarland: private phone use has been generally banned at primary schools since August 2025.
• Saxony: a ban at primary schools since February 2026, and since August 2026 also for grades 5 to 8.
• Saxony-Anhalt: no statewide ban; schools set their own rules.
• Schleswig-Holstein: schools decide themselves. The state recommends private use only from grade 10.
• Thuringia: at primary schools, smartphones are generally prohibited in lessons, during breaks and in after-school care.

In the PISA 2022 study, 28% of 15 year olds in Germany said they get distracted by using digital devices in most or all maths lessons, and 27% by classmates using theirs. According to UNESCO, 58% of countries worldwide now have a national phone ban at school, up from 24% in 2023.

A ban works best when it isn't seen as harassment at home. A few ideas:

• Read the school rules and talk with your child about why the rule exists.
• Agree how your child can reach you in an emergency, for example through the school office.
• Back the rule up instead of sending messages yourself during school hours.
• If the school has no rule: make sure the distracting apps still stay away at school.

With TaskBlue you set the school as a place once. When your child arrives there, games and social media disappear from the home screen, and after school they're back. Phone and messages stay usable unless you pick them. How it works in detail is explained under phones at school.