Colorado School Cell Phone Law (HB 25-1135): What It Requires

Yes. Colorado has a statewide law on student phones in school. Colorado required every school district and charter school to adopt, implement and post a student phone policy by July 1, 2026. The law sets required exceptions but leaves scope to each board; it also covers the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.

What HB 25-1135 requires

• • Each local board (for non-charter schools), district and institute charter school, and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind must adopt and implement a student communication-device policy
• • The policy must describe any prohibitions and exceptions for possessing and for using devices during the school day
• • The policy may not bar possession and use needed as an ADA effective-communication accommodation, to follow an IEP or 504 plan, or to monitor or address a medical condition
• • The policy must be posted on the school or district website
• • Boards that adopted and implemented a device policy on or before Aug 31, 2025 are exempt from the section

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

The key provision, verbatim

“At a minimum, the policy must describe: (I) The prohibitions, if any, and exceptions, if any, regarding student communication device possession during the school day; and (II) The prohibitions, if any, and exceptions, if any, of student communication device use during the school day.”

Source: C.R.S. § 22-1-149(3)(a)

Timeline

1. May 1, 2025Gov. Jared Polis signs HB 25-1135
2. August 6, 2025C.R.S. § 22-1-149 takes effect
3. August 31, 2025Cutoff: boards that adopted and implemented a device policy by this date are exempt
4. January 5, 2026Deadline for CDE to publish policy resources and research
5. July 1, 2026Deadline to adopt, implement and post the policy online

Where phones must be kept

C.R.S. § 22-1-149 lets each board decide whether and how to limit possession; it sets no storage rule.

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 25-1135 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 Colorado administrators

1. Confirm the board adopted and implemented its policy and posted it online (deadline July 1, 2026)
2. If you rely on the Aug 31, 2025 exemption, keep the adoption record on file
3. Check that the policy states both possession and use rules for the school day
4. Confirm the ADA, IEP/504 and medical-condition exceptions are written in
5. Review the CDE resource collection when revising the policy

How Colorado districts are carrying it out

The law sets the floor; each district writes its own policy on top of it. Here is what one large Colorado district has adopted, from its own published policy:

• • Denver Public Schools: From 2026–27, policy EL 23 bars student use of personal devices during the school day, including passing periods and lunch.