Textbooks, Not Texts: Texas Bans Cellphones To Boost School Focus
House Bill 1481 mandates that public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools adopt policies requiring devices like cellphones, tablets, smartwatches, and other telecommunication-enabled electronics to be stored securely and out of sight during the school day.
Schools must either ban students from bringing devices to campus or provide storage options, such as locked pouches, to ensure a safe and secure environment. The law requires disciplinary measures for students found using prohibited devices, with exceptions for school-provided devices, those needed for educational programs, doctor-prescribed devices, or those required for health or safety protocols.
Several North Texas districts, including Richardson ISD, have already implemented cellphone restrictions, citing distractions and bullying as reasons. Richardson ISD utilizes Yondr pouches, magnetic locking devices that enable students to carry their phones without accessing them. The district's superintendent reported 85% of teachers noted increased instructional time after the policy's adoption, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
Dallas ISD, which has tested various approaches, must now develop a district-wide policy this summer.
Piper Freeman, who just completed eighth grade at Dallas ISD's Robert T. Hill Junior High, where cellphones have been banned for several years, told Fox 4, 'It made a lot of people mad because they could not have their phones.' However, she added, 'It can be distracting when you see other kids on their phones.'
Piper's mother, Megan Freeman, credited the pouches for reducing fights and improving social skills, recalling her son's observation: 'He said, 'Mom, you can tell the kids who have not had Yondr pouches because all of us Highlanders, we are talking at lunch. Everyone else is like this on their phone. They don't know how to communicate.' I love it.'
Some opposition has emerged, with students in Houston staging a walkout last year against a cellphone ban and parents citing safety concerns, referencing the Uvalde school shooting, where victims used phones to call for help.
Megan Freeman acknowledged these concerns, saying, 'I have had that frustration. I wish I could text my son or Piper. It's made me more proactive. Or I message the teachers.'
Law enforcement experts advise students to avoid using their phones during emergencies and follow instructions quietly, noting that all Texas classrooms have desk phones for making 911 calls.
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