When Lawton Public Schools students in sixth through 12th grades return to class this fall, they will have three options for their cellphones: Leave the phones at home, keep them in the family vehicle or put them in a district-approved bag for the duration of the school day.
LPS and other school districts across the state are developing policies to comply with Senate Bill 139, a new state law that bars students from using their cellphones or other personal electronic devices in school. Under the law, students are forbidden to use their devices “from bell to bell,” meaning from the start of the school day until the final bell rings.
The law applies to cellphones, smart watches and headphones, laptops, tablets and smart glasses. School-issued devices, such as laptops and iPads used for instruction, are exempt from the ban.
The law, which is mandatory for the 2025-26 school year, includes the following exceptions:
• Students may use their cellphones or other personal devices during the school day in situations where immediate communication is needed for safety or urgent personal matters. This includes severe health crises, natural disasters and lockdowns.
• Students with special needs may use their devices during class time or during the school day if their Individualized Education Plan, medical plan or 504 plan – a legally binding document that outlines accommodations or services for student with disabilities – indicates it is necessary for medical or educational purposes.
To qualify for this exception, the use must be listed as a documented accommodation within the student’s IEP, medical or 504 plan.
Here’s a look at the steps that four area school districts are taking to comply with SB 139: Lawton Public Schools Students in sixth through 12th grades will be required to stow their devices in a Faraday Yondr bag, which blocks Wi-Fi signals, between the first bell and the last bell, Lawton Public Schools officials said in a July 7 news release. The devices must be turned off while they are in the bag and kept in students’ backpacks, lockers or other designated areas.
The school district will purchase the Faraday Yondr bags for secondary- school students. Families may buy them from the district for $35 after a $25 device insurance fee is paid, for a total of $60.
The district bought the bags for around $35 apiece and is selling them at cost, Superintendent Kevin Hime said in a July 14 interview.
“We’re making no money off the bags,” he said.
Families may begin making payments on their bags and device insurance this month through the InTouch payment portal, and the bags may be picked up during student check-in in August, according to the news release. Families will keep the bags but may not substitute their own personal bags.
Students in all grades must abide by the ban on cellphones in school, but the policy requiring students to keep their phones in Faraday bags during the day applies only to sixth- through 12th graders, Hime said.
“Pre-K through five, theirs has to be put in their backpack where you can’t see it,” he said. “The elementary, we think we can control it because they don’t change classes where they have access to that phone.”
Cache Public Schools The Cache Board of Education recently adopted a policy reflecting SB 139, and district officials are currently deciding what the details will look like, Superintendent Chad Hance said in a July 15 interview. He said the district has applied for a state grant to help cover the cost of buying special bags that can either be locked or block out Wi-Fi signals, but officials haven’t yet been notified if the district will receive the grant.
“If we do, I think our plan is to purchase some of the pouches,” Hance said.
However, he said he wasn’t sure whether the grant funds would cover the cost of buying a bag for every student, or if purchasing the bags would even be feasible.
Hance said district officials have mixed feelings about banning cellphones in schools, and he anticipated an uphill battle to get students to put their phones away during class.
“It’s this second habit of just picking it up and looking at it, even though you don’t really realize that you’re doing it,” he said. “Kids are the same way.”
But Hance said he thought curbing the use of cellphones might make students more attentive in class and reduce the number of disciplinary problems.
Fletcher Public Schools Up until this year, Fletcher students were allowed to have their cellphones during passing periods and lunchtime but not in class, Superintendent Amanda Grimes said in a July 15 phone interview. This year, students will not be allowed to access their phones at those times.
“We adopted a policy that the first time a kid is caught trying to access their phone during the prohibited times, they (the phone) will be taken to the office and the kid has to pick it up at the end of the day,” Grimes said. “For the second infraction, a parent will have to pick it up. It will not be released back to the kid.”
The penalty for a third violation may start with in-school suspension, depending on the school.
Students who take their phones to school will be allowed to check them into the front office if they wish, Grimes said.
“Other than that, they are just supposed to be turned off and out of sight,” she said. “Drivers can leave them in their vehicles. They can be left in their bags, as long as they are not accessed.”
Frederick Public Schools Frederick Public Schools has banned cellphones in class for several years, and the district is not planning to modify the policy for the upcoming school year, said Superintendent Shannon Vanderburg.
“There are really no changes here in Frederick,” he said in an email to a Southwest Ledger reporter.