Two years after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Phone-Free School Act, kids in California are about to find out the effects of the bill once they return from summer break.
By July 1, 2026, every school district, county office of education, and charter school had to develop and adopt policies to limit on-campus smartphone use. The Phone-Free School Act makes the restrictions mandatory rather than optional. The state-mandated local program must also be updated every five years.
While parents in San Luis Obispo County welcomed the requirement, many want robust and consistent enforcement.
“SLO High, Morro Bay High students, they have to put their phones in a pouch on the wall or the back of the door when they walk in class, but during lunch, they get their phones,” Chad Worth, a San Luis Coastal Unified district parent, said. “I think there are a number of parents that were like, ‘Wait a minute, I thought we passed a bill to get rid of this?’”
Worth has a second grader and a transitional kindergarten student in the district. He also created the local chapter of Schools Beyond Screens, which describes itself as a national coalition of parents and educators advocating for evidence-based guidelines around technology in classrooms.
With a focus on Chromebooks and other educational technology, the chapter came about after Worth began talking to district leaders more than a year ago. He believes California was forward-thinking when the Phone-Free School Act was first discussed and passed in Sacramento, but, he told New Times,it now has some of the weaker state laws around cellphone use in schools.
“It’s not a true bell-to-bell ban, or away-for-the-day ban as a lot of states across the country are implementing starting this next academic year,” he said.
In May, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation that expanded the state’s elementary and middle school cellphone ban to include high schools.
In April, Maine Gov. Janet Mills reinforced a law that required all state school boards to adopt policies prohibiting cellphone use in K-12 schools from the starting bell to the dismissal bell.
That same month, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill to expand the existing campus cellphone ban to prohibit use from bell to bell.
On the Central Coast, the rules vary among school districts. While the Phone-Free Schools Act makes limiting cellphone use compulsory, there’s still flexibility on what those rules could look like.
At San Luis Coastal, cellphones and wearable devices like smartwatches are supposed to be turned off and kept away during the school day for elementary and middle school students.
High schoolers’ phones, earbuds, and headphones must be put away before entering classrooms, which are equipped with cellphone pouches. Students are expected to stash their phones in those pouches every period.
Assistant Superintendent Lisa Yamashita told New Times that students should keep their phones in the pouches if they need to leave the class to use the bathroom. Cellphones are also banned in PE locker rooms.
‘I wish that [Gov. Newsom] just ordered schools to banish phones from schools, but local choice is big here. … If you go visit high school during lunch or in between classes, a lot of the kids are just locked into their phones, and it kind of breaks my heart just a little bit.’
—Mike McPhate, San Luis Coastal Unified district parent
“Our cellphone policy hasn’t changed since the law passed, as our procedures already meet the legal requirements,” she said. “Some students with disabilities or health concerns may have special accommodations.”
These regulations are similar for SLO High and Pacific Beach High.
At Morro Bay High School, students may use cellphones and other devices if they don’t disrupt lessons and activities and aren’t used for cheating on assignments and tests—it’s up to the individual teacher to decide what’s allowed in the classroom.
In South County’s Lucia Mar Unified School District, high schoolers can only use electronics during lunch and other breaks.
Inconsistent restrictions across schools make San Luis Coastal parent Mike McPhate wish for a time long past.
“I wish that [Gov. Newsom] just ordered schools to banish phones from schools, but local choice is big here,” he said. “If you go visit high school during lunch or in between classes, a lot of the kids are just locked into their phones, and it kind of breaks my heart just a little bit. Young people need to be practicing social interactions to prepare themselves for adulthood.”
Concerns about technology and student safety made San Luis Coastal parent Vanessa Salas advocate for a return to pencil and paper. The idea came after she attended school district meetings about internet safety hosted by the SLO County Sheriff’s Office.
“They mentioned different things like sexting, sextortion, being approached in middle school and high school through social media and [being offered] drugs,” Salas said.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla confirmed that investigations consistently indicated communications between young purchasers and drug dealers occur through direct texting and social media platforms.
He added that sexploitation typically occurs on Snapchat, based on numerous tips about the crime at the school level.
Cipolla said that catfishing is a major issue affecting kids. The crime involves scammers contacting minors through social media and convincing them they’re the same age. Coaxed by scammers, the minors send nude pictures that sometimes include their face and other identifying features.
“The scammer [then] tells the juvenile they need to send them money or the scammer will send the picture(s) to the juvenile’s friends/family or post the pictures publicly,” Cipolla said via email.
Salas and fellow concerned parents Jenn Smith and Katie Pozzi urged the San Luis Coastal to limit screen time for students. They formed a group called Purposeful Learning SLO and launched a petition in July that racked up 478 signatures as of Aug. 3.
“If you have families that are trying to control their screen time at home, it’s almost like the family no longer has the agency on how to control things for their kids because the district is bypassing parents and providing devices to the kids,” Salas said. “Even if they were to type an essay on Google Docs and submit it to teachers, the teachers can print that essay and … circle errors and write comments … and the student has a moment of real feedback.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Education Today 2026.
