Texas classrooms are quieter this year, but is everyone happy about it?
Texas high school students started the 2025-26 school year under a new state law that bans cellphones and other personal communication devices on school grounds.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1482 on June 20, and it took effect Sept. 1.
Selena Jaimes, a dual credit student at Dallas College Richland Campus and Conrad High School, spoke about the impact of the high school phone ban on daily logistics and safety. She said that without access to phones, coordinating rides to and from high school can be difficult.
“Since we come on the bus, we have to be at a specific place, at a specific time, in order for the bus to not leave us at the high school when we have college classes,” Jaimes said. She, like other students, feel that the lack of phone use results in miscommunication between parents, teachers, faculty and students.
Jaimes also feels that phones are necessary for student safety. She pointed to a recent lockdown as an example, saying students were unable to contact parents to let them know they were safe. “If there really was something going on at the school, we wouldn’t have been able to let parents know,” she said. “I feel like the biggest impact is on communication.”
Other students feel that the ban makes day-to-day communication with parents more complicated, especially when it comes to after-school activities or clubs. Ashley Campos, a dual credit student at Richland and North Garland High School, said, “Whenever there are meetings or last-minute cancellations it is hard to let my mom know with time. I have to let her know at the very last minute, so it just makes it more difficult for me and her when it comes to picking me up.”
Campos also said that managing phone use is an important skill students should be trusted to practice before college. She said the policy should be slightly more lenient, since once in college no one will be constantly telling students to put their phones away. “It would give us more of a sense of responsibility,” she said.
Other students see phones as tools that can improve focus and communication. Jessica Bocanegra, another dual credit student at Richland and North Garland High School, said that allowing phones could help students pay closer attention in class while staying informed with their families.
Phones also play a role in academics, particularly in notetaking. Jaimes said, “It would make it better because it would be easier to write stuff down from the whiteboard. Sometimes they move a little too fast, but by taking pictures and taking notes and everything we can remember and memorize everything more easily.”
For many students the phone ban feels overly restrictive and can directly interfere with schoolwork. “I was trying to log in to my college app like my Common App and I had my password saved on my phone so I couldn’t really do that,” Campos said.
Jaimes said the issue goes beyond convenience, saying that some college coursework becomes inaccessible on school-issued Chromebooks. “A lot of our professors give us links into websites that are blocked,” she said, which “can prevent us from actually doing the work.”
The phone ban has reshaped the daily lives of high school students across Texas. While some students say it complicates communication and coursework, the policy is intended to limit distractions in the classroom.
The question now is whether schools will stick to the policy or consider students’ calls for flexibility.
