The Danish government has announced a nationwide ban on mobile phones and other private screens in primary and lower secondary schools, but school leaders, teachers and students say most schools already have such rules.
The measure was presented at a press conference on Thursday, September 10, 2026, where five ministers responded to the latest PISA results. DR reports that the ministers called the sharp drop in Danish pupils’ reading and math skills serious. The total ban on private screens in grundskolen was the government’s most concrete answer.
Several of the sector’s organizations told DR’s P1 Orientering that the ban changes little in practice. Dorte Andreas, chair of Skolelederforeningen, said the large majority of schools in the country have already adopted some form of policy on phones. She does not expect a formal ban to make a big difference.
Gordon Ørskov Madsen, chair of Danmarks Lærerforening, told P1 Orientering that the importance of the ban is being overstated. As he noted, most schools have already introduced restrictions and set up so-called phone hotels where pupils hand in their devices.
Peter Bendix Pedersen, chair of Friskolerne, which represents 287 independent schools, told Ritzau that it is easier to count the schools without a ban. According to him, very few member schools have no restriction of any kind.
Students point to computers in class
Samsom Paepke, deputy chair of Danske Skoleelever, said he does not object to phones being put away. He told P1 Orientering that a national ban is the wrong method, because schools have spent a long time building local policies with pupils on the school boards.
Andreas Amtoft Nickelsen, a ninth grade pupil at Rygaards Skole in Hellerup, said phones are not the only issue. As he told P1 Orientering, computers are used for almost everything in class, and he would prefer fewer screens and a return to books.
Children’s Minister Jacob Mark of SF acknowledged that a nationwide phone ban will not lift academic results much on its own. He said the more important task is reversing what he calls the forced digitalization of the school, which he traces to the 2014 Folkeskole reform.
According to Mark, digital learning platforms replaced books at the time, and enthusiasm for iPads was unmatched. He described the new package as a move away from that reform.
Alongside the screen ban, the government announced an investment of five billion kroner in the folkeskole and a tripartite negotiation on schools. Mark said the money is meant to create more time, while the tripartite talks will involve school staff and other parties in Danish education in deciding next steps.
