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Phone-Free School Policy Guides & Resources

Guides for principals and districts going phone-free: phone laws in all 50 states, Yondr and app costs compared, enforcement playbooks, policy templates.

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The guides administrators read first when they plan a phone-free school: the plan, the enforcement, the policy, the options, the families, the evidence.

  • The Complete Guide to Phone-Free School Policies in 2026

    Everything school administrators need to know about implementing a phone-free policy: from state laws and parent communication to enforcement technology and measuring success.

    Guides · 12 min read · Updated Oct 23, 2026

  • How to Enforce a Cell Phone Ban in School: Methods Compared and a 7-Step Rollout

    How schools enforce phone bans: written rules, teacher confiscation, lockers, pouches and phone-lock apps compared on cost, staff time and workarounds, what research says about compliance, and a 7-step rollout plan.

    Guides · 7 min read · Updated Nov 2, 2026

  • Cell Phone Policy Template for Schools: Free Examples & Best Practices (2026)

    Download a free, customizable cell phone policy template for your school or district. Includes sample language for K-12, middle school, and high school policies: plus enforcement clauses, exception handling, and consequence frameworks.

    Guides · 10 min read · Updated Oct 12, 2026

  • School Cell Phone Solutions: Every Option Explained and Compared (2026)

    Every school cell phone solution explained: phone-lock apps, Yondr-style pouches, MDM, phone lockers and caddies, honor-system rules, cell phone detection sensors, and why signal jammers are illegal, with published prices and the limits of each.

    Comparisons · 9 min read · Updated Nov 2, 2026

  • How to Handle Parent Pushback on School Phone Bans: Strategies That Work

    Practical strategies for school administrators dealing with parent opposition to phone-free policies: including the most common objections, evidence-based responses, communication frameworks, and how to turn skeptics into supporters.

    Rolling it out · 8 min read · Updated Oct 23, 2026

  • Do Phone Bans in Schools Work? What the 2026 Research Shows

    Do school phone bans work? What the research shows on grades, attention, bullying and mental health, from England, Florida and Norway to the 2026 national U.S. pouch study and a 2026 randomized trial in Science, including the null findings, and why enforcement decides the result.

    Research · 12 min read · Updated Oct 23, 2026

Every guide, by topic.

Written by the LockedIn team for school leaders, and updated as laws and products change.

Guides

Writing, launching and enforcing a phone policy, step by step.

18 guides

Rolling it out

Timelines, board presentations, and bringing families and staff with you.

2 guides

Comparisons

How LockedIn compares with pouches, lockers, device management and other apps.

26 guides

Research

What studies find about phones, attention, grades and student wellbeing.

9 guides

Funding

Paying for a phone-free program, from Title funds to braided budgets.

2 guides

Phone laws by state.

44 states and D.C. have a statewide law, executive order or state board policy restricting phones in school, and 1 more state has a bill pending.

Compare every state

Emergency exceptions by state

Private school phone policies in TX, CA, FL and NY

Studies worth citing.

Independent research you can put in front of a board. Each links to the paper or survey itself.

Free tools.

For the paperwork around a phone policy. No sign-up.

  • Phone policy generator

    Build a phone policy for your school: scope, storage, exceptions and consequences, ready to edit.

  • Family agreement maker

    An agreement families sign, with your school’s own consequences, ready to print.

  • Pouch cost calculator

    Five years of a pouch program for your enrollment: pouches, replacements and staff time.

  • Glossary

    Plain definitions of the terms you’ll meet: bell to bell, OS-level locking, geofencing, total cost of ownership.

  • LockedIn in the news

    Coverage of LockedIn and the students who built it.