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Texas's School Phone Ban: What HB 1481 Requires
Texas House Bill 1481, passed in 2025, requires every school district and open-enrollment charter school to ban personal communication devices, including phones, for the whole school day from the 2025-26 school year.
HB 1481 is one of the broadest state laws in the country. It covers phones and other personal communication devices such as smartwatches and tablets, and it applies during the entire school day rather than just class time. Each district and charter had to adopt a policy describing how devices are stored, what happens when a student breaks the rule, and how parents can reach a child in an emergency. Exceptions cover students with documented medical needs or individual education plans.
Supporters pointed to lost instruction time, mental health and safety. Teachers in Texas, as elsewhere, described spending part of every lesson redirecting students from phones, and administrators described fights that were arranged and filmed on social media. Several large Texas districts had already tried pouches before the law, with Houston among those budgeting for them.
Texas leaves the storage method to districts. Collection bins and lockers put the burden on staff and make the school responsible for devices. Lockable pouches keep phones with students but locked for the day, so the school is not holding anything, and the pouch does not block signal. Students tap it on a magnetic unlocking base when they leave.
We ship across Texas 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 Texas schools?
Yes. HB 1481 requires districts and charter schools to ban personal communication devices for the whole school day starting in the 2025-26 school year, with exceptions for documented medical and educational needs.
Does HB 1481 cover smartwatches?
Yes. The law covers personal communication devices broadly, including phones, smartwatches and similar devices, not only smartphones.
What is the cheapest way for a Texas district to comply?
For daily use, buying lockable pouches outright is usually cheapest over several years, because there is no recurring fee. Before The Internet sells to schools for a one-time price and beats written quotes.
Related reading
School phone bans by US state · School phone pouch cost · How to roll out phone pouches in a school
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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