Guide
The 2026–27 state phone-mandate map
Where each state stands on restricting phones in schools: who has a law, who has guidance, and what districts are required to do about it.
Where each state stands on restricting phones in schools: who has a law, who has guidance, and what districts are required to do about it.
As of the 2026–27 school year, 43 states restrict or regulate phones in schools in some form, through statute, board mandate, or state-education-agency guidance. The pattern is consistent: the law names the outcome (devices restricted during instructional time) and leaves the how to districts. This guide breaks down the landscape by category, covering full statutory bans, bell-to-bell restrictions, local-policy mandates, and pending legislation, and what each means for the technology office that has to implement it. Use the interactive state-law lookup to jump straight to your state.