Switzerland: inconsistent ban on cell phones at many schools
Eight cantons in Switzerland have introduced a nationwide legal ban on cell phones in schools. Every school across the country must address the issue.
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In Switzerland, too, the debate about a ban on cell phones is in full swing. There are growing concerns among parents, teachers, scientists and politicians that intensive smartphone use can lead to learning disabilities, addiction and psychosomatic effects. With the start of the new school year – in some cantons, the summer vacations end this weekend – there are innovations and a somewhat stricter approach to the controversial issue. There is no national ban on cell phones in schools.
In March 2025, the smaller Council of States in the Swiss parliament called on the government to investigate the effects of a ban on cell phones on the protection of minors. The Federal Council was open to restrictions; however, Education Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider was cautious about a nationwide ban on cell phones in schools. The federal government does not want to interfere in cantonal matters, she said. In Switzerland, the cantons are responsible for schools. They deal with the problem in the same way as the German federal states: inconsistently.
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Each of the 26 cantons in Switzerland has its own rules – if at all – or leaves regulations to the schools. Sometimes it is also down to the initiative of individual municipalities, which issue uniform regulations on what applies in their schools. Würenlos in the canton of Aargau, for example, has had a ban on cell phones for over 17 years –with good results. "We would recommend that all schools do the same," one head teacher told the media last fall.
Further cell phone restrictions came into force at the end of the summer vacations, including in Aargau. There is now a uniform cantonal regulation for all schools: cell phones, smartwatches, tablets and laptops are prohibited in class, during breaks and at school events up to the ninth grade. Exceptions are only possible for teaching purposes or for health reasons.
These exceptions now also apply throughout the canton of Nidwalden in Central Switzerland, where private electronic devices are also prohibited on school premises. The ban applies to all elementary school in the canton.
Compulsory elementary school in Switzerland begins with kindergarten (2 years), followed by elementary school (6 years) and lower secondary school (3 years). It usually lasts 11 years and is organized on a cantonal basis. Secondary level II is the educational level after compulsory schooling and before tertiary level (universities and higher vocational education and training). Upper secondary level includes general and vocational education and training such as grammar schools, technical colleges and dual vocational education and training (apprenticeships).
