LAUSD plans total phone ban in class before state deadline

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Unified School District revealed its new cellphone ban policy, announcing plans to restrict student device use during school hours beginning February 2025.

The policy, which will affect the nation's second-largest school district, requires students to turn off and store cellphones, smartwatches, and earbuds during the school day. Officials detailed implementation plans during a board meeting at district headquarters.

LAUSD Chief of School Operations Andrés Chait said the restrictions were developed after reviewing research on youth cellphone and social media use and gathering input from parents, educators, unions, and experts. The policy builds upon existing technology limitations that the LAUSD Board approved in June.

The February start date allows schools time to develop campus-specific enforcement plans. The district has allocated $7 million to support implementation, with options including secure pouches, lockers, or honor system storage in backpacks.

Students will maintain access to their devices before and after school hours. The policy includes exemptions for students who require phones for health monitoring, translation services, or as part of special education accommodations. Schools must also ensure students can access phones during emergencies, though officials did not specify precise emergency criteria.

According to Chait, who oversees school safety and other duties, there is no official definition of an "emergency."

"When all else fails, apply common sense," he advised.

The district-wide restrictions come after California legislators passed a law in August requiring all public schools to implement student cellphone bans by July 2026. LAUSD's policy will take effect more than a year before the state mandate.

Traditional public schools, magnet programs, and affiliated charter schools must follow the new guidelines. Independent charter schools operating on district property have more flexibility in implementation methods but must still restrict cellphone use and comply with state emergency access requirements.

"But at the end of the day," Chait said, "they have to ensure, one, that cellphone use is restricted for the school day and, two, they're in compliance with state law so that kids still have access to those phones in the case of an emergency."

School administrators will communicate specific plans to families and gather additional community input through Local School Leadership Councils(LSLC) before the February launch.

"For example, one school may say that the second time that there's an incident, the student may be referred to a dean," he said. "Another school may say they're referred to a counselor. But in general, the expectation is consistent that there's a lot of dialogue, there's a lot of opportunities for changes to behavior before there's any confiscating of a phone."

The restrictions aim to address growing concerns about technology's impact on student mental health, classroom disruption, and bullying. LAUSD joins a growing number of large urban districts implementing similar policies to limit device use during instructional hours. Chait said at least 50 LAUSD schools already have strict cellphone policies.

Parents and community members can review full policy details and provide feedback during public comment periods at upcoming board meetings. The Board of Education encourages public comment. Any individual wishing to address the Board must register to speak using the Speaker Sign Up website: https://boardmeeting.lausd.net/speakers and indicate whether comments will be provided over the phone or in person.  Registration will open 24 hours before the meeting.