Barcelona Education Officials Ban Smartphones, Outline €X Million School Upgrades

Education authorities in Catalonia have confirmed a complete ban on smartphones and smartwatches for students in compulsory education with no exceptions allowed inside schools or classrooms from the 2025/26 school year onward.

The measure arrives as the new academic year opens on September 8 for early childhood, primary and compulsory secondary levels. Officials note the timing coincides with a projected drop in overall numbers that reflects longer-term demographic trends across the region.

Renovation Spending and Programme Rollout

Barcelona city officials have listed 83 separate improvement, enlargement and renovation projects under way at local schools during the summer break. These works form part of a 95-measure package backed by more than €62 million in public investment. The Barcelona Education Consortium, together with Escola Nova 21 and the Institut de Ciències de l'Educació at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, is also preparing the three-year 'Xarxes per al canvi' initiative that will reach 152 schools, 87 of them fully public.

School segregation indices recorded by the 2024 Education Opportunities Report show measurable declines between 2020/21 and 2023/24. The index fell from 0.49 to 0.39 in pre-school and primary settings and from 0.44 to 0.34 in secondary education. The same report records an average six-per-cent improvement in outcomes for vulnerable students over the same period.

Next Steps for Families and Schools

Enrolment projections place the total number of students at 1,040,925 for the coming year, 12,013 fewer than the previous year. Parents and school administrators will need to adjust to the device ban and the ongoing works before classes resume on September 8. A further unified digital platform called 'La Meva Educació' is scheduled to replace multiple existing applications for grades, payments and absences from 2027 onward.