Texas has banned cellphones in schools. Here’s how San Antonio-area districts are responding

SAN ANTONIO — Texas school districts will soon be required to crack down on student cellphone use, following a new law passed during the 2025 Texas legislative session.

House Bill 1481 mandates that all public and open-enrollment charter schools prohibit students from using personal electronic devices—including smartphones, tablets and smartwatches—during the school day. The law marks a significant shift from previous policy, where such restrictions were left up to individual districts.

The law takes effect Sept. 1, just a few weeks after school starts for the 2025-2026 school year. Districts will have the option to either ban devices entirely from school property or require students to store them in a designated manner during school hours.

Here in San Antonio, we asked school districts around the area how they plan to handle the new law. If you do not see your district on the list, then we are awaiting a response from that district. 

Here are the responses KENS 5 has received:

Alamo Heights ISD is extending the existing elementary and Junior School policy to the high school beginning this fall in response to the new law.

This applies to all AHISD campuses (PK-12):

• Students may bring a phone or device to school, but it must be powered off and stored out of sight for the entire school day, including during passing periods and lunch.
• Smartwatches must also be powered off, stored out of sight, and not used during the school day.
• Earbuds and headphones may not be used for personal use.
• Personal laptops or tablets will no longer be allowed for student use at school. (Students will continue to have access to district-provided devices when needed.)

East Central ISD leaders met in the spring of 2024 to create a cell phone policy that addresses the distractions it could cause students. 

The policy states: 

“Students are required to keep their device turned off and stored away upon arrival to campus through departure. 

If a student uses a telecommunication device without authorization during the instructional day, the device will be confiscated and delivered to the administration office. Only the parent/guardian may pick up the confiscated device from the campus administration office. In addition, students will receive additional disciplinary sanctions for repeat offenses.”

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This is the response provided by the district:

“FSHISD is in the process of complying with this new law and do not have a completed policy as of yet.”

This is the response provided by the district:

“We have not received this policy.  We are waiting on our policy service provider to send a draft copy for our board to consider.”

This is the response provided by the district:

“The NEISD board is planning to address this at the Aug 11 board meeting.”

This is the response provided by the district:

“This policy is set to be finalized by our Board on Aug. 12.”

This is the response provided by the district:

We are taking appropriate policies, including a cell phone policy, to our trustees for action during the Aug. 18 board meeting in order to meet a Sept. 1 legislative deadline.

This is the response provided by the district:

“We are in the process of finalizing our policy. We will release it once we get board approval.”