Sweden to Prohibit Mobile Phones in Schools Amid Growing Trend

WHO:

ABC News - Joar Forsell, chairperson of the Swedish parliament's education committee

NPR - Magnus Haake, associate professor of cognitive science at Lund University

ABC News - Melina Sallahi, 17, student at Malmö Borgarskola

NPR - Vasilije Stjepanovic, 17, student at Malmö Borgarskola

NPR - Patrik Sander, Deputy Headmaster at Malmö Borgarskola

NPR - Peter Carlsson, CEO of Malmö-based startup Imvi Labs

WHAT:

ABC News - Sweden is set to ban mobile phones in schools beginning in the fall for the next academic year.

ABC News - The government has set aside 555 million Swedish krona ($59 million) for purchasing textbooks and teachers’ guides.

ABC News - 24.3% of Swedish ninth graders did not reach a basic level of reading comprehension according to the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment.

NPR - A law restricting the use of mobile devices in schools in Finland came into effect last August.

WHERE:

ABC News - Malmö, Sweden

NPR - Malmö Borgarskola high school in southern Sweden

WHEN:

ABC News - The mobile phone ban will begin in the fall for the next academic year.

ABC News - A new curriculum to prioritize book-based learning is expected in 2028.

NPR - A law restricting mobile device use in schools in Finland came into effect last August.

WHY:

ABC News - The ban is part of a policy prioritizing more reading time and less screen time due to a decline in reading and writing abilities among younger students.

ABC News - The back-to-books policy was triggered by falling reading levels.

HOW:

ABC News - Students at Malmö Borgarskola place their mobile phones in a box, nicknamed a “Mobile Hotel,” during classes.

NPR - The government aims to foster learning environments with fewer distractions by building on existing restrictions on phones in schools.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 13:53 UTC)

Sweden is set to implement a ban on mobile phones in schools starting in the fall for the next academic year, a move aimed at fostering better learning environments by reducing distractions. This decision comes in response to concerning statistics, revealing that 24.3% of Swedish ninth graders did not achieve a basic level of reading comprehension, prompting the government to allocate 555 million Swedish krona for textbooks and teachers’ guides. At Malmö Borgarskola, students currently place their phones in a box known as the “Mobile Hotel” during classes, as part of the initiative to prioritize reading over screen time.