As states and districts ban or restrict cell phones in school, the device on a student’s wrist has become the next question: what to do about smartwatches in school. A modern smartwatch can send messages, take calls, show social media notifications and run apps, often without a phone nearby. More and more state laws now name smartwatches explicitly, and schools need clear rules for when a watch is just a watch.
The debate is not new. In the 1980s the controversial piece of technology in the classroom was the calculator watch. Tracing how the wristwatch went from timekeeper to miniature phone explains why it is so hard to regulate.
From wristwatch to smartwatch: a short history
The classic wristwatch
For most of the 20th century a watch was harmless. Students wore one to track class periods, practice times and the bus. There were no policy debates and no questions about academic integrity.
The calculator watch
Casio released the C-80, a wristwatch with a built-in calculator, in February 1980. Math teachers responded by banning calculator watches during tests, and the argument over whether a device on the wrist was an unfair advantage began. It was one of the first times a wearable forced schools to rewrite the rules, and the issue was the same one schools face now: access to information during a test.
The smartphone era
After the iPhone arrived in 2007, phones brought notifications, messaging, photos, social media and new ways to cheat into classrooms. Districts responded with phone rules, but most of those policies were written for handheld devices, not wearable ones.
The smartwatch
Today’s smartwatches can send and receive texts, display notifications, run calculators and note apps, connect to the internet and AI tools, record audio and, on cellular models, work without a phone at all. Smartwatches are common among older students: in a spring 2024 survey of 6,020 U.S. teens by Piper Sandler, 39.4 percent said they owned one, MacTrast reported.
Why smartwatches are harder to regulate than phones
- They look harmless. A smartwatch looks like an ordinary watch, and a teacher cannot easily tell whether a student is checking the time or reading a message.
- Parents see them as safety tools. Many families buy them for location tracking and quick contact, which makes outright bans harder for schools to explain.
- They are nearly silent. A vibration on the wrist does not ring or light up a pocket.
- Many work without a phone. Cellular watches can message, call and run apps on their own.
- Older policies did not name them. A policy that says “cell phones” leaves room for argument about a watch.
Smartwatch bans in state law
At least 39 states and the District of Columbia now require school districts to ban or restrict student cell phone use, according to an Education Week tracker updated in July 2026. Several of the newer laws close the smartwatch gap by naming watches directly:
- New York. The state’s bell-to-bell law covers “internet-enabled devices,” defined as “any smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, or other device capable of connecting to the internet,” for the whole school day, including lunch and passing time. Exceptions include authorized educational use, managing a health condition, emergencies, translation and devices in a student’s IEP or 504 plan.
- Texas. House Bill 1481, signed in June 2025, requires districts to prohibit students from using a personal communication device during the school day, and its definition includes a smartwatch.
- Utah. A 2026 law, S.B. 69, extends the state’s restriction from class time to the whole school day starting July 1, 2026. It defines a smartwatch as a device that can act in place of or as an extension of a phone, and it excludes wearables that only tell time, monitor health, show notifications without the ability to respond, or track location.
Utah’s definition is a useful model for district policy. It separates a watch that can communicate from one that cannot, which lets schools allow fitness trackers, medical monitors and simple GPS watches while restricting devices that work like phones.
Smartwatches and testing
The major testing organizations already treat smartwatches like phones. The College Board prohibits smartwatches, fitness trackers and other wearable technology during the SAT, including breaks, unless approved as an accommodation; simple digital or analog watches are allowed, and a student seen with a prohibited device can be dismissed and have scores canceled. The ACT requires smartwatches and fitness bands to be off and out of sight. In England, the Joint Council for Qualifications bans all watches from exam rooms, warning that possession can lead to disqualification.
In the classroom, the concerns are familiar: messages from friends or family during a test, notes or formulas stored in an app, and tools that can answer questions. Many schools already handle this the way testing companies do, by having students remove watches and place them with other devices before an assessment.
Distraction during the school day
Outside of tests, smartwatches create a steady stream of small interruptions: group chat buzzes, parent texts, step counts, game alerts and social media notifications. Even on silent, a vibration on the wrist pulls attention away from a lesson. That is the main reason states and districts writing bell-to-bell phone laws have extended them to watches.
School modes on smartwatches
Watchmakers have added features that let families limit what a watch can do during class:
- Apple Schooltime blocks notifications and app use on a child’s Apple Watch during days and times a parent chooses. It works on cellular Apple Watches set up through Apple’s program for children’s watches. A child can exit it temporarily, and the parent can see a report of when that happened.
- Google School time, set up through Family Link, shows a limited home screen during school hours with apps and contacts chosen by the parent. It launched on the Fitbit Ace LTE and is rolling out to some Android devices and Samsung Galaxy Watches. On the Fitbit Ace LTE it silences notifications and games but still lets the child call and message a parent, and it requires a paid subscription.
These modes help, but they depend on parents setting them up and on the watch being enrolled through a family account. They do not cover adult-style watches paired to a teenager’s own phone, so schools still need a policy of their own.
What a smartwatch policy should include
- Define the device. Name smartwatches and other wearables, and say which features make a device restricted: messaging, calls, internet access or app use.
- Allow what students need. Exempt medical devices, such as glucose monitors that report to a watch, and any device written into an IEP or 504 plan.
- Set testing rules. Require all watches to be removed and stored during assessments, as the SAT and ACT do.
- Consider grade level. Younger students may wear simple location watches that do not message freely; high school students more often wear full smartwatches.
- Tell families. Explain the rule and how parents can reach students in an emergency, and point families to school modes on their child’s watch.
- Plan for what comes next. Smart glasses, AI earbuds and smart rings raise the same issues. A policy written around what a device can do, rather than what it looks like, will last longer.
Frequently asked questions
Can you wear a smartwatch in school? It depends on the state and district. New York, Texas and Utah include smartwatches in their school-day device restrictions, and many district policies do the same. Simple watches that only tell time are usually allowed.
Are smartwatches allowed on the SAT and ACT? No. Both prohibit smartwatches and fitness trackers during testing; simple digital or analog watches are allowed.
What is Schooltime on Apple Watch? A setting parents schedule from their iPhone that blocks notifications and apps on a child’s Apple Watch during school hours.
Why do schools ban smartwatches? Because modern smartwatches can do most of what a phone does, including messaging and internet access, which can distract students and make cheating easier.
Wearable technology will keep changing faster than school policy. Districts that write their rules around what a device can do, and explain those rules clearly to families, will be ready for the next device as well as this one.
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