Sweden Moves to Ban Mobile Phones in Schools as Europe Retreats From Classroom Screens

STOCKHOLM — Sweden is set to ban mobile phones in schools beginning in the fall, joining a growing international movement to pull screens out of the classroom and refocus students on books and traditional instruction.

The ban, which would take effect for the next academic year, builds on phone restrictions that many Swedish schools have already adopted independently and formalizes them into national policy. It is the latest step in a broader strategy pursued since 2023 by the country's center-right coalition government, which has prioritized more reading time and less screen time, particularly among younger students.

Officials say the policy is a direct response to troubling signs of declining literacy. Joar Forsell, chairperson of the Swedish parliament's education committee, said authorities have observed a deterioration in the general ability to read and write across the country, especially among younger pupils. In the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment, the influential international benchmark, 24.3% of Swedish ninth graders failed to reach a basic level of reading comprehension — a figure that alarmed educators and policymakers alike.

The goal, supporters say, is to foster learning environments with fewer distractions. By removing the constant pull of notifications, messaging and social media, advocates argue, schools can reclaim attention for sustained reading, classroom discussion and the kind of deep focus that screens routinely interrupt. The shift reflects mounting skepticism toward an earlier era of education policy that embraced tablets and digital tools as inherently modernizing.

Sweden is not acting alone. A law restricting the use of mobile devices in schools in neighboring Finland took effect last August, and Denmark appears poised to implement a similar ban. Together, the Nordic countries — long regarded as bellwethers for progressive education policy — are charting a notable course correction, swapping screens for books after years of enthusiastic digitization.

The trend extends well beyond Scandinavia, as governments and school districts around the world reassess the role of phones in children's daily lives amid growing research and parental concern about their effects on attention, mental health and academic performance. Sweden's move adds one of Europe's most closely watched education systems to that list, and its results are likely to be scrutinized by officials elsewhere weighing whether to follow suit. For Swedish students returning to class this fall, the most visible change will be simple but significant: the phones, for the school day at least, will be put away.