Over the past couple of years, several Texas school districts have implemented cellphone bans. The change could soon become law statewide.
In November 2024, Republican Rep. Ellen Troxclair (former Austin City Council member) introduced a bill that would prohibit students from using electronic devices during the school day, requiring them to place their phones in a secure location. On March 3, the bill was referred to the House Public Education Committee. Within the bill is a requirement that school districts collect data regarding changes in student behavior, student mental health, and disciplinary incidents as they implement the cellphone ban.
Although it is difficult to draw conclusions from data right after a rule is put into place, schools have observed improvements in student engagement as cellphones have been removed from school environments. Nicole Griffith, principal of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, which implemented cellphone bans for the 2024-2025 school year, shared her observations.
“Lunch is lively again with students engaged in real conversations with friends, and teachers report stronger student participation and deeper learning,” Griffith said. Griffith said counselors have noticed fewer peer-to-peer conflicts, and some parents have expressed gratitude.
Though cellphone bans have reportedly enriched both learning and social experiences, many parents’ concerns lie elsewhere.
“Every single professional in the world these days has to live with this modern dilemma of the ‘always on phone’ culture.” – David Yeager, social-cognitive psychologist
A National Parents Union poll, released in September 2024, revealed that over 75% of parents have a child who takes their phone to school. A primary reason is safety, a serious concern as the number of kids who experience school shootings firsthand has more than doubled since the 1999 Columbine shooting. Parents also want to coordinate transportation, which can be especially difficult depending on a family’s socioeconomic status.
“We need to be able to communicate with our kids, and unfortunately, when a lot of these policies come down that are very heavy handed, they disproportionately impact kids that are low income,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union.
David Yeager, social-cognitive psychologist and author of 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People, sees cellphones as a “convenient scapegoat” for other issues. These include economic instability and family upheaval.
Anxiety around phone use effects may be great, but the effects are largely still unknown. Rather than a complete cellphone ban, Yeager says we should instead focus on mindful cellphone use.
“Every single professional in the world these days has to live with this modern dilemma of the ‘always on phone’ culture,” Yeager said. “I want [my daughter] to learn how to turn her phone off during class and then turn it back on later. That’s what I want to learn how to do.”
In general, though, schools that have implemented cellphone bans don’t want to turn back. Rebecca Hudson, principal of Lake Travis Middle School – which, like Ann Richards School, banned cellphones last August – believes the school’s success has stemmed from people in their community being on the same page.
“That would be probably the most important thing: making sure that the community buys in and the parent supports you, and then just starting it from the first day,” Hudson said.
Though the majority of Lake Travis Middle School students come from high-income families, nearly half of Ann Richards School students are economically disadvantaged. Despite this, both schools’ principals have considered the cellphone bans a positive change. But Texas is a big, varied state, with more than 1,200 school districts in diverse communities. Texas HB 515 would affect all of them. The bill was referred to the Public Education Committee March 3 and has not been discussed yet.
This article appears in March 28 • 2025.