The nationwide mobile phone ban announced by Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) for the first eight school grades is set to take effect on May 1. Primary schools, secondary schools, special needs schools, and the lower levels of secondary schools (AHS) will generally become mobile phone-free zones. However, schools will have the autonomy to make exceptions, such as when phones are used for educational purposes. In parallel, measures to strengthen digital education at schools will be promoted, Wiederkehr explained after the Council of Ministers meeting in March 2025.
“This is necessary to make school a place of concentration, performance, and safety,” said the minister. Mobile phones, smartwatches, and similar devices not only distract children and teenagers, making them “real concentration killers,” but they also lead to more conflicts. Therefore, there is a need for classrooms and breaks to be phone-free zones.
Schools have already been able to regulate or ban mobile phone use during classes and breaks within the framework of school autonomy, and most schools have done so. However, there are schools that have had difficulties enforcing this, according to the Ministerial presentation. The goal of a clear nationwide regulation is to support school leaders and teachers. During the preparation of the regulation, school partners (students, parents, and teacher representatives) were already involved, and the regulation will be open for further input during a public consultation process.
Improvement of Digital Education
The regulation will specify that schools can decide how the mobile phone ban is to be implemented and how the phones will be stored during the school day. There will be exceptions for children and teenagers who need mobile phones for health reasons (such as emergency buttons for people with serious illnesses or blood sugar monitoring via a mobile app for diabetics).
Family Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP), who had previously opposed a mobile phone ban during her time as Secretary of State for Digitalization, also endorsed the measure. She welcomed the ban because it would reduce screen time for students and prevent teachers from having to share their attention with smartphones. At the same time, she emphasized that schools are obliged to engage more with the issue of what is happening on mobile phones and the internet, citing phenomena like cyber grooming or radicalization online. “We must prepare our children and young people to not believe everything and to not follow everyone.”
In parallel to the mobile phone ban, initiatives for digital education will be strengthened, as digital media literacy is considered a crucial future skill. The existing school subject “Digital Literacy” will be further developed, and additional teacher training in digital media pedagogy and didactics, as well as new teaching materials, are planned. Furthermore, the devices provided to students through the “Digital Learning” initiative will be better protected, and IT security measures will be standardized at schools.
