Mexico is taking the phones out of class.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico is the latest country to take phones out of the school day. The New York Times reported the rule on page A10 of Thursday’s paper. Cellphones, smartwatches, and other personal devices will be restricted from the first bell through recess at elementary and middle schools. The policy starts in November. Reuters put the date at November 3.

It did not need a new law. State education officials agreed, and President Claudia Sheinbaum announced it. She said the aim is to recover creativity and to stop what she called the indiscriminate use of screens, especially when they are tied to social media. High schools must pick one of four approaches: lock the phones all day, limit them to zones or recess, ban them, or allow them for class. Universities are only asked to encourage restraint.

Education Minister Mario Delgado called it a step for attention, human contact, and the rights of children. Israel Sánchez Martínez, who heads the National Parents’ Union, said many parents agree and that the rule will not be enough. The Mexico desk files the classroom, because that is the Mexico story The Times printed.