Stop making teachers jobs harder. They are overworked and underpaid as is, and now asking them to fight for attention with a kids smartphone in class just creates a hostile adversarial relationship with their students, that harms the learning process.
Yes, please just listen to teachers and make their jobs easier. I know passionate driven teachers who have walked away from teaching because of smartphones in the classroom. Its such a stupid exhausting never ending battle. Teaching is hard enough.
If I was a teacher, it would be inconceivable that I could not confiscate anything that is distracting my student's attention. They could have their items back after class, but there is simply no place for such distractions in the classroom. That said, I'm opposed to federal level involvement.
An outright ban will make their job easier.