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California's Phone-Free School Act: What AB 3216 Requires
California's Phone-Free School Act, AB 3216, signed in September 2024, required every school district, county office and charter school to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting student smartphone use at school by July 1, 2026, and to update it every five years.
AB 3216 does not set one statewide rule. It requires each local educational agency to adopt its own policy that limits or prohibits smartphone use while students are at school or under the supervision of school staff. The deadline was July 1, 2026, and policies must be revisited at least every five years. Students must be allowed devices in emergencies, when a teacher or administrator permits it, for health reasons a doctor documents, and when an individualized education program requires it. Governor Newsom had urged districts to act before the deadline and to go phone-free bell to bell.
Many California districts did not wait. Los Angeles Unified voted for an all-day ban that began in 2025, and it had already spent heavily on pouches in earlier years, with reported spending of around $5.2 million in 2023-24. Other districts across the state chose pouches, lockers or phones-away-in-bags rules. Because the law lets districts decide, policies vary a lot from one district to the next.
For a district setting its policy now, the method matters more than the wording. Phones in bags are hard to enforce. Collection and lockers move the burden and the liability to staff. Lockable pouches keep phones with students but locked for the day, and they open on a magnetic base at dismissal. They also make emergency access simple, because the pouch does not block signal and staff can unlock a pouch on the spot when it is needed.
We ship across California from Toronto. Before The Internet sells lockable phone pouches to schools outright. You pay once, the pouches and unlocking bases belong to the school, and there is no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you already have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Are phones banned in California schools?
California requires every district, county office and charter school to have a policy limiting or prohibiting smartphone use at school, adopted by July 1, 2026. Many districts, including Los Angeles Unified, chose all-day bans.
What exceptions does AB 3216 require?
Policies must allow devices in emergencies, with permission from a teacher or administrator, for documented health needs, and where an individualized education program requires it.
What is the cheapest way for a California district to enforce a phone policy?
For daily use, buying lockable pouches outright usually costs least over several years. Before The Internet sells to schools for a one-time price with no subscription.
Related reading
School phone bans by US state · School phone pouch cost · Buying vs renting school phone pouches
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
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