San Diego, California – The San Diego Unified School District on Tuesday unanimously approved a new “phone-free school day” policy that will go into effect at the start of the 2025-26 academic year. The policy, part of a broader statewide push to address the impact of smartphones on student learning and well-being, will prohibit most phone use across all grades during regular school hours.
The move comes in response to Assembly Bill 3216 — California’s newly enacted “Phone-Free School Act” — which requires all public schools to adopt limits on mobile device use by July 2026. But district officials say their decision wasn’t driven solely by legal compliance.
“We realize our existing policy hasn’t changed since 2003,” said Enrique Ruacho, Chief of Staff for the district. “We’re updating it because student life, technology, and learning environments have all changed dramatically in the last two decades.”…