As the new school year begins, a new Texas law is banning phones on campus. Signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, HB 1481 prohibits the use of any electronic devices during the school day or on school grounds. In accordance with the new law, Houston ISD has adopted a policy that essentially bans cell phones from campus. But the law — and the policy that resulted — have sparked fierce backlash from students and parents.
HB 1481 empowers a school district’s board of trustees or charter school leaders to “adopt, implement, and ensure the school or district complies with a written policy prohibiting a student from using a personal communication device on school property during the school day,” according to its text. This applies to cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, pagers, or any other device. The law says schools may either prohibit students from bringing devices to school or provide storage options for them during the day. It also allows schools to confiscate students’ devices — and even dispose of them if they aren’t retrieved after 90 days.
While it makes allowances for students with disabilities or for health and safety protocols, the law ignores emergency communications entirely — a huge red flag, given that Texas is the most disaster-prone state in the country. It has had over 370 federal disaster declarations since 1953, according to the Texas General Land Office, as of January—months before the July 4 floods in central Texas that killed over 130 people, including dozens of children…