Phone-free school vendors: how to choose one.
There are three kinds of vendor: pouches, lockers and software on the student’s own phone. Here is what each asks of your staff, what a grant application needs from whichever you pick, and what to ask before you sign.
Four kinds of vendor.
Magnetic pouches
Students seal their phone in a pouch at the door and open it at an unlocking base on the way out. The school buys a pouch per student, replaces the lost and broken ones each year, and staffs the doors morning and afternoon. Yondr is the most widely known.Lockers, cabinets and caddies
Phones go into a locker, a charging cabinet or a classroom caddy. Low cost per phone, but every collection and return is a staff task, and a second phone stays in the pocket.Software on the student’s own phone
An app locks distracting apps on campus during school hours, with nothing to hand out or collect. LockedIn works this way; apps differ in what they lock, what students can still reach, and what the school sees when a student tries to get around it.Device management for school devices
MDM tools and web filters manage Chromebooks and school-owned iPads. They aren’t built for a student’s personal phone, which is the device a phone-free policy is about.
What a grant needs from your vendor.
Most phone-free and school-safety grant applications ask the vendor for some or all of these. Ask for them before the week of the deadline.
- A written quote made out to your school or district, per student and per year for software, per unit for hardware
- A vendor support letter (sometimes called a letter of commitment) naming the program you’re applying to
- An implementation timeline, from contract to launch
- Budget language that matches the quote, line by line
- A student data privacy agreement, often your state’s version of the Student Data Privacy Consortium agreement
- How results will be reported: the data your evaluation section promises
- A W-9, and registration in your state or district vendor system if your purchasing office requires it
Applying with LockedIn? We send a vendor support letter and a written per-student quote within one business day, and our paste-ready grant language covers the program description, need statement, timeline, budget and privacy sections.
Ask every vendor these.
- Workarounds
- What does a student do to get around it, and does the school find out who did?
- Year two and three
- What does it cost after the first year, counting replacements and staff time?
- Emergencies
- Can students call home and 911? What happens to phones during a lockdown or evacuation?
- Exceptions
- How are medical devices, accommodations and teacher-approved use handled?
- Student data
- What does it collect from a student’s phone, and where is that data stored?
- Launch
- How long from a signed contract to the first day it runs?
Vendor questions.
Frequently asked questions
What are phone-free school vendors?
Companies that supply what a school uses to keep phones out of the school day: magnetic pouches, lockers and cabinets, or software that locks distracting apps on the student’s own phone during school hours on campus. LockedIn is a software vendor; there is no hardware to buy.
Which phone-free school vendors can a grant pay for?
Each grant program lists its own eligible costs, from storage to training and technology. Tell us which program you’re applying to and we’ll check it with you before you apply, then send a vendor support letter and a written quote within one business day.
What does a grant application need from a vendor?
Usually a written quote, a vendor support letter naming the program, an implementation timeline and budget language that matches the quote. Many districts also need a signed student data privacy agreement and a W-9 before purchase.
How fast can a phone-free school vendor launch?
It depends on the kind. Hardware has to be ordered, delivered and handed out. LockedIn’s setup takes about a day per school, and a school can launch within a week of kickoff.
Further reading
- Phone-free school grantsCurrent programs, deadlines and paste-ready application language.
- Pouch cost calculatorFive years of pouches for your enrollment, with replacements and staff time.
- How LockedIn is pricedPer student, per year, quoted in writing.
Yondr alternativeFunding a phone-free programPhone laws by state
See it lock on a real phone.
Book a 20-minute demo. We’ll show LockedIn on a map of your own campus, with your bell schedule, and answer the questions your families will ask.