The San Antonio district said state law does not clearly define a school day as the Texas Education Agency pushes for stricter compliance.
SAN ANTONIO — The North East ISD board voted unanimously Monday night to keep its current student cellphone policy, despite pressure from the Texas Education Agency to change it.
The decision comes after the TEA gave the district a Jan. 30 deadline to comply with a state law aimed at limiting student cellphone use during the school day.
NEISD’s existing policy, which went into effect in September, allows students to use their phones before and after school, during lunch and during passing periods. But on Sept. 24, the TEA sent the district a letter alleging a notice of violation to the cell phone ban law.
“Their contention is that we don’t have the discretion to define the terms in this statute and that it is meant to be a bell-to-bell cell phone ban,” said an NEISD attorney at an October meeting.
The district responded in an Oct. 1 letter, arguing it had complied with both the law and TEA guidance. The district also invited agency representatives to attend that fall meeting, but they did not respond or appear.
Then-Superintendent Dr. Sean Maika, who left the position at the end of 2025, said at the time that the district had previously discussed its approach with lawmakers, none of whom expressed concern at the time.
Trustees on Monday argued the state law, passed last year, does not clearly define what constitutes a “school day.” The TEA, meanwhile, has said the district does not have the authority to define a school day.
One trustee, Diane Sciba Villarreal, described the dispute as a potential “test case,” saying the board feared continued state demands if it backed down now.
“It will always be something that they’re going to push and push and push if we don’t say no and do a solid no,” Villarreal said, later adding that the TEA’s posture constitutes “a blatant abuse of power.”
The board eventually voted 7-0 to keep the policy unchanged, potentially putting them at risk of being sanctioned by the state. An attorney representing NEISD said the district will formally notify the TEA of its decision and await the agency’s response.