Strategies to Re-Engage Students

Smartphones and generative artificial intelligence have become fixtures in students’ lives. School leaders now face a paradox: digital tools bring unprecedented opportunities but they also fuel distraction and disengagement. Recent data illustrate that tension. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 72 percent of U.S. high‑school teachers say that cellphone distraction is a major issue in their classroomsstateline.org, and 76 percent of public schools already ban phones for non‑academic usestateline.org. Meanwhile, chronic absenteeism — students missing 10 percent or more of school days — has surged from 15 percent in 2018 to 26 percent in 2023govtech.com.

This article explores new strategies that schools and policy‑makers are testing to curb device‑driven distraction, harness AI responsibly and re‑engage chronically absent students.

1. A wave of cellphone restrictions

After years of lax enforcement, many states are taking a harder line on smartphones. In 2024 at least eight states — including California, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana and South Carolina — passed or expanded laws to curtail cellphone use during the school daystateline.org. In 2025 lawmakers in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire and Texas proposed similar bansstateline.org. Local districts are also tightening policies: some schools require students to lock phones in Yondr pouches or store them in classroom cubbiesstateline.org, while others charge a $30 fee to retrieve a confiscated devicestateline.org.

The push is driven by mounting evidence that constant connectivity harms mental health and academic focus. Administrators note that bans can foster deeper peer relationships and improved learning. Vanessa Garza, executive director of the Girls’ Athletic Leadership School in Los Angeles, told Stateline that her school’s strict no‑phone policy “has allowed our students to foster deep friendships, experience enhanced learning, and regulate healthy emotions”stateline.org. Yet experts warn that enforcement is complex. Students often work around bans by hiding devices or switching to smartwatchesstateline.org. Ken Trump, a school safety consultant, argues that policies must be community‑driven and consistently enforced; otherwise they become meaninglessstateline.org.

2. AI guidance and innovation

While states restrict phones, they are simultaneously racing to issue guidance on artificial intelligence. A July 2025 report by AI for Education found that 28 states and the District of Columbia have published frameworks defining AI, outlining best practices and emphasizing human oversightstateline.org. North Carolina, Georgia, Maine, Missouri, Nevada and New Mexico released such documents recentlystateline.org. Most frameworks focus on academic integrity and ethical use, reflecting fears that tools like ChatGPT will exacerbate cheating or misinformationstateline.org.

At the same time, innovators are exploring ways to leverage AI for good. In late 2024, the ed‑tech company Edia unveiled an AI‑powered attendance tool. Integrated with a school’s student‑information system, it automatically sends personalized, multilingual text messages to parents within 15 minutes of an unexpected absencegovtech.com. The tool also builds individual attendance profiles and flags patterns for staff follow‑upgovtech.com. By automating outreach and triaging responses, the technology frees administrators to focus on students most in need of intervention. Raton Public Schools Superintendent Kristie Medina called the system “a game‑changer,” noting that AI can help districts gain deeper insights into attendance patterns and tailor interventions more effectivelygovtech.com.

3. Confronting chronic absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism has become a national crisis. The American Enterprise Institute’s Return to Learn tracker documents that the share of chronically absent students skyrocketed during the pandemic, and many districts still struggle to regain momentumgovtech.com. Researchers cite a range of causes: mental health challenges, unstable housing, disengagement and, increasingly, digital distractions. When students stay up late on smartphones or feel disconnected from in‑person learning, they are more likely to skip school.

To address this, schools are pairing attendance analytics with wraparound supports. Several districts use AI‑driven systems like Edia to automate attendance notifications; others layer on predictive models that identify at‑risk students by combining attendance, grades and engagement data. These models help staff intervene before sporadic absences become habitual. Meanwhile, some districts are experimenting with cellphone‑free periods during the day to encourage face‑to‑face interaction and reduce mental fatigue — a strategy that may indirectly improve attendance by making school more engaging.

4. Building a balanced digital ecosystem

The convergence of smartphone restrictions, AI tools and attendance initiatives points toward a balanced digital ecosystem. Rather than banning technology outright, educators can:

• Set clear boundaries: adopt age‑appropriate phone policies that minimize distraction while acknowledging students’ need for connectivity and safety.
• Leverage AI responsibly: use AI for administrative tasks like attendance tracking, translation and personalized learning, but implement governance frameworks that protect student privacy and emphasize human oversightstateline.org.
• Strengthen relationships: pair technology solutions with human contact — regular check‑ins, mentoring and family engagement remain crucial for addressing absenteeism.
• Monitor impact: collect data on academic performance, mental health and engagement before and after policy changes to ensure that well‑intentioned measures do not create new inequities.

Conclusion

New ideas about cellphones, AI and absenteeism are reshaping the educational landscape. Data show that cellphone distraction is widespreadstateline.org and that chronic absenteeism has surgedgovtech.com. Policymakers and educators are responding with a mix of restrictions, guidelines and innovations. When implemented thoughtfully, these tools can complement each other: limiting disruptive screen time, harnessing AI to reach families and re‑engage students, and ultimately creating classrooms where both attention and attendance thrive.