Education
BY ANGELA BONILLA & JULIANNA WASHBURN
Montgomery County-area districts ban cellphone use during school day
Key players
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath urged state lawmakers to ban student cellphone use in public schools. “If it were in my power, I would’ve already banned them in schools in the state,” Morath told state senators during a Sept. 18 hearing.
After Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1481 on June 20, which requires school districts to prohibit students from using devices such as cellphones and smartwatches on campus during the school day, districts are adopting or amending their policies. Conroe ISD expanded its policy to address cellphones and other electronic devices, restricting their use in grades pre-K-12 to before or after school. Willis ISD announced its policy on Facebook on Aug. 1, which prohibits the use of personal communication devices during the school day. Montgomery ISD maintains its policy adopted in July 2024, which requires students to keep cellphones off during the school day while on campus, per prior reporting. HB 1481 does provide exceptions for students
Cellphone, smartwatch rules for Montgomery County-area schools
Cellphones turned off
Path to new phone policy
July: MISD approves local cellphone policy May 20: Texas Senate passes House Bill 1481 May 28: Texas Legislature sends bill to Gov. Greg Abbott to sign June 17: Conroe ISD approves local cellphone policy June 20: Gov. Abbott officially signs bill Aug. 1: Willis ISD approves local cellphone policy Sept. 1: Deadline for school districts to implement cellphone policy
Devices stowed away in lockers or backpacks
No devices to be used from the start of the school day to the end
SOURCES: MONTGOMERY ISD, CONROE ISD, WILLIS ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
with medical needs or special education accommodations, and the bill would not apply to devices supplied by school districts for academic purposes.
SOURCES: MONTGOMERY ISD, CONROE ISD, WILLIS ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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