New School Rules Take Effect in Lithuania: What Changes for Student Devices?

Lithuania’s schools now have to decide how far students can use smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and other connected devices during the school day. The new rules apply to every school, but they do not impose one national policy.

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Children have phones with them during lessons and can take them out and use them only with the teacher’s permission. Some teachers use phones in lessons, and it works with older students.

Some schools may ban students from bringing phones. Others may require them to switch devices off and keep them in their bags, while some may provide locked storage. Vilnius Vytautas Magnus Gymnasium director Rytis Komičius said students could use phones during lessons only with a teacher’s permission, adding that some teachers use them for instruction with older students.

The government has chosen to give schools autonomy rather than impose a single system. Education, Science and Sports Minister Raminta Popovienė rejected the idea that this amounted to avoiding responsibility, saying schools had asked for greater independence. Lithuania is taking a less punitive approach than countries such as Italy, Finland, Croatia and Greece, where authorities have introduced tighter restrictions and, in Greece, serious penalties can apply.

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I would really like to ask that this not be described as shifting responsibility. Today, schools said in the working group that they want independence and more autonomy.

In Lithuania, schools may first issue a verbal or written warning. They can confiscate a phone after repeated or serious misuse and ask parents to collect it. Students may contact relatives urgently through a school employee, and exceptions apply when a device supports a health need, such as diabetes monitoring.

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If they suddenly need to get in touch, they can approach any adult at the school and make contact about an urgent matter.

Popovienė said the ministry would assess how the rules work and consider stricter requirements if schools struggle to reach agreements. Experts warned that inconsistent policies could highlight differences between schools and eventually appear in student results.

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We will assess it after some period of time. If we see that schools are finding it harder to reach agreements, the requirements will need to be tightened.