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Italy's School Phone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes. Italy bans pupils from using mobile phones during school hours at every level. Primary and lower secondary schools have applied the ban since 2024/25, and a June 2025 circular extended it to upper secondary schools from 2025/26.
The rule rests on two ministry documents. Note no. 5274 of 11 July 2024 banned phone use in primary and lower secondary schools, even for teaching purposes. Circular no. 3392 of 16 June 2025 extended the ban to upper secondary schools during lessons and, more generally, school hours. Exceptions cover pupils whose individual education plan (PEI or PDP) requires a device, documented personal needs, and specialist ICT courses.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara introduced the first-cycle ban for the 2024/25 school year, together with a return to the paper diary alongside the electronic register. He said the measure had won wide support, and in June 2025 described extending it to upper secondary schools as urgent. The upper secondary ban applies from the 2025/26 school year. Schools were told to update their internal regulations and set disciplinary sanctions.
Schools choose their own method. The minister has said pupils may bring a phone but must leave it in a bag or drawer on entering class, and each school decides whether to collect devices, use lockable boxes or rely on pupils keeping them put away. Internal school rules must set the sanctions for breaches. Some schools have also applied restrictions to teachers and support staff, which unions have questioned.
Whatever Italy's circulars require, lockable pouches let students keep their own phone, locked, from the first bell to the last, so the scuola does not collect, store or answer for devices. Before The Internet ships lockable phone pouches and unlocking bases worldwide, including to Italy, and can print the school's name or crest on them. Schools buy them outright: one price, no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you already have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Does the ban apply to licei and istituti tecnici?
Yes. Circular no. 3392 of 16 June 2025 extended the ban to all upper secondary schools from the 2025/26 school year. Specialist ICT courses can be treated as an exception.
Can teachers allow phones for classwork?
Not in primary and lower secondary schools, where the 2024 note banned use even for teaching. Exceptions exist for pupils whose PEI or PDP requires a device.
Who sets the sanctions?
Each school. The ministry asked schools to update their internal regulations and include disciplinary sanctions for pupils who break the rule.
Related reading
School phone bans by country · Phone-free schools toolkit · How to roll out phone pouches in a school
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
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