Technology in the Classroom: Missouri Voter Preferences

By: Abigail Medler
Published On: May 16, 2025

In 2022, 95% of teens reported having access to a smartphone, a more than 20 percentage point increase from 2014–15 (73%). According to the National Education Association (NEA), these devices are taking a toll on students’ mental health as well as their ability to focus in class. Consequently, 15 states have already passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict the use of cell phones in schools statewide and Missouri lawmakers are considering following suit. When surveyed last Fall (2024), a large majority of Missouri voters reported support for prohibiting high school students from accessing their cell phones both during regular school hours (72%) and during class (79%). See Figure.

A Majority of Missouri Voters Support Cell Phone Bans During School Hours and in Class

August 2024 Responses to “Do you support or oppose... Prohibiting high school students from accessing their cell phones during…?

Similarly, in the February 2025 survey, 70-76% of respondents favored the prohibition of cell phone use during regular instruction activities for elementary, middle, and high school students. Most recently, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe endorsed a bill that would restrict the use of cell phones in public and charter schools. Senate Bill 68, if passed, would require schools to adopt a written policy restricting phone use, at the minimum, during instructional hours, and with certain exceptions, such as in the case of an emergency.

In addition to polling on cell phone use in schools, the February 2025 survey found that 81–84% of Missouri likely voters favored schools prohibiting students from accessing social media using the school’s internet, and 85% of likely voters favored an internet safety bill (SB976) that has since dissolved. 

Providing Laptops and Personal Tablets Favored More Highly for Middle and High School Students

February 2025 Responses to “Do you favor or oppose Missouri public schools providing each student a personal laptop or tablet computer to use in the classroom for education purposes in… Ele, Mid, HS”

Cell phones are not the only cause for debate, however, as laptops and personal tablets are being introduced more frequently to younger students, and artificial intelligence is becoming more common in the classroom. In the most recent 2025 survey, a majority of respondents favored providing laptops to students in middle and high school, while only 44% favored it for elementary students (See Figure). Additionally, more than two thirds (69%) favored allowing schools to prohibit students from using artificial intelligence on their schoolwork.

In the February 2025 survey, voters were asked if they favor or oppose certain topics being required material in Missouri public schools. The large majority (At least 70%) of respondents favored requiring public schools to teach students the importance of the right to free speech, identifying online misinformation, the purpose and acceptable uses of social media, the negative impacts of social media, and how to appropriately use A.I., as necessary curriculum (Figure Below).

‘The Importance of the Right to Free Speech’ and ‘Social Media’s Negative Effects on Mental Health’ Cited as Most Favorable Topics to be Taught in Missouri Public Schools

February 2025 Responses to “Do you favor or oppose requiring Missouri public schools to teach students…”

To read more about voter opinions on technology in the classroom, see our SLU Poll Retrospective here. 

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