NEISD trustees doubled down on its version of a cellphone ban in January, prolonging a showdown over what defines a school day.
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Education Agency is stepping up its efforts to compel North East ISD to create a cellphone ban policy the state approves of.
Having completed an investigation into what it called a “failure by the board of trustees… to adopt a required board policy” in accordance with a new law passed last year, the TEA recommended appointing a conservator who would oversee the creation of a policy the agency deems acceptable.
At the heart of the issue is what defines the “school day.”
In the wake of the new law requiring all Texas districts to restrict students from using personal electronic devices during the school day, NEISD trustees last fall issued a policy that students aren’t allowed to use their cellphones during class, but that allows them to pull their phones out during passing periods and lunch breaks, as well as before and after school.
The TEA, however, alleges the NEISD board overstepped its bounds in trying to define what a school day is. The state also claimed the definition of a school day as outlined in the district’s cellphone ban contradicts definitions of “school day” found elsewhere in NEISD policy.
On Sept. 24, the TEA sent the district a letter that its Compliance Review Unit was reviewing its cellphone policy, kicking off a showdown between the two entities. The agency later allowed NEISD more time to modify its policy in order to “come into compliance” by the end of January 2026.
Instead, at a Jan. 26 meeting, NEISD trustees unanimously voted to keep its policy in place, saying the TEA doesn’t clearly define what constitutes 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 at the January meeting, later adding that the TEA’s posture constitutes “a blatant abuse of power.”
But in its findings, the agency concluded the district board placed limits that are too strict on their interpretation of where the school day begins and ends.
“The school board is not entitled to define terms so narrowly that the required board policy affects less conduct than required by law,” the TEA’s report on the matter states. “Although the statute does not define ‘school day’ explicitly, the agency finds that the district has define ‘school day’ more narrowly than both the plain meaning of the term and the clear intent of the legislature.”
The agency said the board’s approach reflected “a misunderstanding of statutory authority, disregard for compliance obligations and a need for external oversight.”
It’s expected the conservator will work with NEISD policies to carve out a new version of its cellphone policy while providing campus-level enforcement and ensuring the entire district community understands it. It will also mandate that trustees undergo training related to “statutory interpretation, legal compliance and board responsibilities.”
In a Friday email to NEISD parents, Board President David Beyer notified families about the TEA’s decision and wrote that the district had received support from parents about its version of a cellphone ban policy.
“This action will not replace the current Board of Trustees, but rather allow the conservator to monitor the enforcement of that policy at campuses,” Beyer wrote. “There are many questions that are still unanswered and at this point, members of the board will consider next steps as soon as they can.”