What are the North Texas ISD cell phone policies for 2025-2026?

DALLAS — Starting Sept. 1, cell phones are officially banned in Texas public schools. Sound simple enough?

Well, the implementation of that law — which was passed by the Texas Legislature this year — might vary from district to district, even if the intended effect is still the same: Students won’t be able to use their phones in school.

What the law did was require districts to pass a policy by Sept. 1 that complies with the law, which prohibits the use of personal wireless communication devices (including but not limited to cell phones). The state law also requires districts to have disciplinary steps in place if students violate the policy.

How students can store their phones, and how the discipline will escalate for each violation, was left to the districts.

While the state law goes into effect Sept. 1, many districts have already approved new policies that will go into effect when school starts this month. 

Here are the policies that several larger districts in North Texas have passed:

The new DISD policy bans cell phone use all day and includes escalating levels of punishment for each violation:

• 1st violation – phone confiscated, returned to parent/guardian
• 2nd – returned with $5 fee
• 3rd – returned with $10 fee
• 4th – returned with $15 fee

The district decided that elementary teachers will collect cell phones and secure them during the day, and secondary campuses will give students a pouch to store their devices. For the pouches, students will have access to a magnetic device that unlocks the pouch at the end of the school day.

The new Fort Worth ISD policy requires students to power off and store their phones away for the entire school day. “Put it away. Learn today.” is the slogan the district is attaching to the policy.

The Fort Worth board outlined three levels of disciplinary action for students who violate the policy by using their personal devices. 

The first is a verbal warning and the student will be able to pick up their phone from the front office at the end of the school day. Consequences escalate to up to three days of in school suspension, then on-campus intervention, the new policy states. 

The Arlington district announced an “Away for the Day” cell phone policy, requiring students’ personal devices — including smartwatches, cell phones and tablets — to be powered off and “out of sight” during all parts of the school day, including class time, transition between classes and at lunch. The devices need to be stored in lockers, backpacks or other designated storage areas, the district says.

The police comes with four levels of discipline for each time a student violates the policy, from device confiscation and contacting a parent (first offense) to in-school suspension (third offense) and then, on a fourth violation, an assignment to the district’s Choices program.

Frisco students won’t be allowed to use their personal communication devices during the school day, from bell to bell, including in passing periods and at lunch. If they bring the device to school, it must be turned off and stored in their backpack from beginning to end. The district is encouraging students to leave their phones at home.

Discipline for violating the policy is outlined in the district’s Student Code of Conduct.

The Plano district passed a policy requiring students to have all personal communication devices powered off and stored out of sight in their backpacks from the time they enter the building until they leave for the day. The policy applies to passing periods, lunch and restroom breaks. Students can use their phones in the school parking lot once they leave campus for the day.

Like other districts, the Plano policy includes four levels of disciplinary measures, including a warning and parent notification for the first offense. On the second offense, the device will be confiscated and the student will receive one day of in-school suspension. Three days of in-school suspension will be added for a third offense, and a fourth offense could result in a student being placed in the district’s alternative program.

Duncanville students will have to power off their devices all day, although each individual campus will decide how the devices will be stored, according to the district’s policy. The Duncanville discipline measures are outlined here, per different grade levels. Like the other districts, Duncanville’s policy extends to passing periods and lunch breaks.

Allen students will not be allowed to use phones or other communication devices from the time they arrive at school until they leave, including passing periods and at lunch, the new policy says. Students will still be allowed to use their devices for extracurricular activities or transportation needs.

Allen’s disciplinary measures include confiscation for first and second offenses, a parent meeting for a third offense, and further consequences for four more offenses.