Arizona School Cell Phone Law (HB 2484): What It Requires

Yes. Arizona has a statewide law on student phones in school. Arizona requires every school district and charter school to limit student phone use during the school day, including meals and recess. Policies must also restrict social media on school-provided internet. HB 2484 was signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on April 14, 2025.

What HB 2484 requires

• • Every district governing board and charter governing body must prescribe and enforce policies that limit student use of wireless communication devices during the school day
• • Policies must allow use for educational purposes as directed by the teacher, during an emergency, and for a student who needs the device because of a medical condition
• • Policies must include procedures for parents to contact students, and for students to contact parents, during the school day
• • Policies must restrict student access to social media on school-provided internet, while letting teachers give access for educational purposes
• • At the start of each school year, the policy and any changes go to parents, teachers and students
• • Schools whose existing policies already met these rules did not need to adopt new ones

The emergency wording for every state, D.C. and Puerto Rico is in school phone ban emergency exceptions by state.

The key provision, verbatim

“Limit the use of wireless communication devices by students during the school day. … "School day" means periods of time when students are at school, including meals, passing periods and recess.”

Source: A.R.S. § 15-120.05(A)(2), (C)(1)

Timeline

1. April 14, 2025Gov. Katie Hobbs approves HB 2484 (Laws 2025, Ch. 53)
2. September 26, 2025A.R.S. § 15-120.05 takes effect (2025 general effective date)

Where phones must be kept

A.R.S. § 15-120.05 requires policies that "limit the use" of devices during the school day; it does not say where devices must be kept.

Some schools back a written policy with phone-management software such as LockedIn: students' own phones lock automatically on campus during school hours and unlock after school, with no pouches or hardware; the admin dashboard flags workarounds by student name, such as a possible uninstall or a new device awaiting approval; and in an emergency, one tap from an administrator starts Emergency Mode on every phone on campus. Software does not replace the policy HB 2484 requires, and it should be set up around the exceptions the law lists; have counsel review any tool that handles student device data.

Checklist for Arizona administrators

1. Confirm your policy limits device use across the whole school day, including meals, passing periods and recess
2. Write in the three required allowances: teacher-directed educational use, emergencies and medical conditions
3. Publish parent-to-student and student-to-parent contact procedures
4. Restrict social media on school-provided internet while letting teachers grant access for instruction
5. Send the policy, and any changes, to parents, teachers and students at the start of each school year

How Arizona districts are carrying it out

The law sets the floor; each district writes its own policy on top of it. Here is what large Arizona districts have adopted, from their own published policies:

• • Mesa Public Schools: K–8 devices stay off or silent and out of sight during school hours; high schoolers may use phones at lunch and in passing periods, not in class.
• • Tucson Unified School District: Phones may not be seen or used during class, passing periods or recess; high schoolers may use them at lunch (Policy JICJ).