Join the Tech Impact and Policy Center on April 14th from 12PM–1PM Pacific for a seminar with David Figlio.

Stanford affiliates are invited to join us at 11:40 AM for lunch, prior to the seminar.  The Spring Seminar Series continues through May; see our Spring Seminar Series page for speakers and topics. Sign up for our newsletter for announcements. 

About the Seminar:

Cellphone bans in schools have become a popular policy in recent years in the United States, yet very little is known about their effects on student outcomes. In this study, we try to fill this gap by examining the causal effects of bans on student test scores, suspensions, and absences using detailed student-level data from Florida and a quasi-experimental research strategy relying upon differences in pre-ban cellphone use by students, as measured by building-level Advan data. Several important findings emerge. First, we show that the enforcement of cellphone bans in schools led to a significant increase in student suspensions in the short-term, especially among Black students, but disciplinary actions began to dissipate after the first year, potentially suggesting a new steady state after an initial adjustment period. Second, we find significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban after that initial adjustment period. Third, the findings suggest that cellphone bans in schools significantly reduce student unexcused absences, an effect that may explain a large fraction of the test score gains. The effects of cellphone bans are more pronounced in middle and high school settings where student smartphone ownership is more common.    

About the Speaker:

David Figlio is the Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester, a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research on education policy, the economics of the family, the interaction between early health and human development, and the economics publication process has been published over the past five years in leading journals such as the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Labor Economics, and Economic Journal. He recently served as provost at the University of Rochester and dean of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy. An elected member of the National Academy of Education, he has served as editor of the Journal of Human Resources and inaugural editor of Education Finance and Policy, and has advised numerous states and countries on education policy.