California Passes Phone-Free School Act

Legislature passes bill to ban cell phones in California schools

California passes school cellphone restrictions. But some students find workarounds

Students use their cellphones after unlocking the pouches that secure them from use. — Student use their cellphones after unlocking the pouches that secure them from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo. State lawmakers have approved cellphone restrictions in schools, and the proposed law has the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Lea Suzuki / Getty Images)

Aug. 28, 2024 Updated 6:10 PM PT

At Dymally High School in South Los Angeles, test scores are slightly up, fights are down and teachers can better focus on instruction — and Principal Darvina Bradley credits her campus cellphone ban.

“What was the biggest shock and surprise for me was we actually had to begin putting out games and things to entertain them at lunch, because they really became kids again,” Bradley said. “We heard conversations occurring again, lunchtime was no longer quiet — it became a real schoolyard with real activity.”

This scene is one California lawmakers are hoping to replicate with their approval of statewide school cellphone restrictions Wednesday.

The Phone-Free Schools Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), sailed through the Legislature and requires all public schools to devise a policy by July 1, 2026, to limit or prohibit smartphones during the school day. It would force distracted, smartphone-obsessed students to do something many haven’t been willing to do on their own: Put their phones away in class.

The legislation is expected to be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who urged educators as the academic year began to enact restrictions, citing the “mental health, scholastic, and social risks” of phone use in classrooms. California would be the fifth state to require school districts to limit students’ phone usage, joining Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia.