Stock photo.
Alabama's FOCUS Act in effect
On the first day of school, the usual shuffle of backpacks and binders came with a new ritual at Mountain Brook High: students lining up to drop their phones into zippered pouches before the first bell rang. For senior Callie Springer, it felt like “locking away a piece of your brain.”
The Freeing Our Classrooms of Unnecessary Screens for Safety Act, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in May, applies to all public K-12 schools in Alabama. Effective beginning with the 2025-26 school year, its goal is to reduce distractions, improve safety and refocus classroom time by eliminating personal device use during the school day. In Mountain Brook — where phone restrictions were already in place for younger students — the biggest shift is happening in high schools, where students, teachers and parents are adjusting to the new rhythm.
STATEWIDE MANDATE, LOCAL IMPACT
The law bans smartphones, earbuds and smartwatches during school hours unless they’re used for educational purposes or emergencies. It also provides funding for schools to adopt digital tools and online learning platforms aimed at creating more dynamic instruction.
Gov. Ivey framed the law as a response to parent and educator concerns.
“These often-disruptive devices have no place in our classrooms during the school day except for educational purposes or during an emergency,” she said in a May statement. “The FOCUS Act will enable students to ‘focus’ on learning while in school rather than on their phones.”
Classroom distraction was a driving concern behind the law. In a 2024 Pew Research survey, 72% of U.S. high school teachers said that cellphone use was a major problem in their classrooms. Academic research has echoed those concerns — a Rutgers University study found that students in device-friendly classrooms scored an average of 5% lower on final exams than students in phone-free classes. The FOCUS Act’s supporters believe limiting phone use will improve student engagement and overall outcomes, though some experts caution that device bans alone aren’t a cure-all.
Another provision of the law requires school districts to implement internet safety education and adopt local policies for student use of school-owned devices. Mountain Brook City Schools already had a technology use policy in place. It covers email, social media and digital images and is designed to support learning and communication both on and off campus.
FROM DISTRACTION TO ENGAGEMENT
For many Mountain Brook educators, the impact was immediate.
Courtney Capocci
“Banning cell phones during school creates a calmer, more focused learning environment by removing constant distractions from texts and social media,” French teacher Courtney Capocci said. “Students stay more engaged and participate more in class.”
Springer agrees. “Last year, in some classes, I would not be paying attention because I would be thinking about what I wanted to do on my phone. Now, I know that I cannot have my phone all day, so I am focusing much better and not even thinking about it.”
Spanish teacher Tommy Marlowe, who teaches at Mountain Brook Junior High, has seen the same shift.
Tommy Marlowe
“I can see more socialization between the students, and I have a closer relationship with my students, as a teacher, due to the absence of these devices,” he said. “I’m happy to see the relationships that are being formed from genuine, personal interactions.”
Lunch and downtime between classes have changed, too. “Instead of looking at my phone during lunch or between classes,” Springer said, “I am talking to my friends. It’s a different experience than I had earlier in high school.”
Parent Andrea Dapkus has also noticed a shift — not just in academic focus, but in emotional development.
“Increased connection, social skills practice, emotional resilience and creativity are born in being a little bored,” she said. “It’s encouraging to see what happens when they’re not constantly on a screen.”
COMMUNICATION AND MENTAL HEALTH
Still, not everyone is completely at ease with the change. Some parents worry about reaching their children in emergencies or coordinating last-minute changes during the day.
“It’s much harder to contact my mom if something changes during the day that I need to tell her,” Springer said. “For example, I had my phone out to tell my mom about an appointment that I had immediately after school. The teachers are very understanding because it’s new for all of us.”
Dapkus sees that challenge as part of the learning process. “It will help both my girls to be more responsible — to have everything they need and to make their plans ahead of time.”
Mountain Brook City Schools, like many districts, encourages parents to use platforms such as ParentSquare for non-emergency communication.
For students who rely on their phones for emotional comfort, the transition has brought anxiety. Organizations like College Admissions Made Possible are trying to help. The nonprofit, which operates the Alabama Virtual Institute for more than 3,000 students each afternoon, has incorporated a “Brains and Screens” curriculum into its social-emotional learning time.
“[It] uses SEL time to retrain the brain for focus, calm and connection in a screen-saturated world,” said Michelle Hayes, executive director of CAMP.
WHO’S FEELING THE CHANGE?
While the FOCUS Act standardizes expectations statewide, its impact varies by age group. For younger students in Mountain Brook’s elementary and junior high schools, phone restrictions have been in place for years. The biggest adjustment has come at the high school level.
“In my three years at MBJHS,” Marlowe said, “I have had very few issues with cell phones.”
For high schoolers, enforcement has gone smoothly.
“Mountain Brook High has a consistent policy in place that has been made very clear to students,” Springer said. “We all know the consequences of having our phones out when we are not supposed to, and I really have not seen students disobeying the rules.”
Marlowe echoed that sentiment: “My students do a great job of making sure that their phones and other prohibited devices are off and put away. This eighth grade group that I currently teach has really bought into the rules, and I’m very appreciative of that.”
The FOCUS Act represents one of Alabama’s most significant statewide education shifts in recent years. Its success will depend on how it evolves — and how schools balance the benefits of fewer distractions with the practical needs of students and families.
