As the concern over cell phones in the classroom rises, banning them from schools will not solve the deep-rooted issue, says the founder of Opal, a phone app that helps users with daily screen time and blocks games and social media.

The movement to ban the technology from classrooms has gained bipartisan popularity among several state lawmakers. Around 76% of U.S. public schools from California to Florida, have implemented some sort of ban.

The Center Square interviewed Kenneth Schlenker, the CEO and founder of San Francisco-based Opal.

Schlenker said a total ban on phones does not teach kids how to live with their smartphones outside of school, which means they are “not learning healthy habits, just losing access.”

“When you simply take a phone away, you trigger a power struggle. Kids don’t like it, and they binge the moment they get their phone back,” Schlenker said. “Even if a district chooses to ban phones, it’s still important to recommend tools that help students build autonomy. They need to learn to manage their phones themselves.”

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