Delaware School Cell Phone Law (SB 106): What It Requires

Yes. Delaware has a statewide law on student phones in school. Delaware's SB 106, signed March 12, 2026, requires every school district and charter school to adopt a cell phone policy, with educator input, that limits student phone use during instructional time, and to post it online by Aug. 31, 2026.

What SB 106 requires

• • Each school district and charter school must adopt a cell phone policy with educator input.
• • The policy must include clear guidelines on acceptable use, a requirement that limits use during instructional time, and the times and places students may use phones.
• • It must also encourage school-family communication about the policy, set consequences for violations, include exceptions for emergencies and medical or educational accommodations, and include a plan to monitor related discipline data.
• • The policy must be provided to the Department of Education and posted on the district or charter website by Aug. 31, 2026; amended policies go to the Department within 90 days and must be posted.
• • Enforcement must be fair and consistent and may not be solely the responsibility of classroom educators.

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

The key provision, verbatim

“A requirement that limits cell phone use during instructional time.”

Source: 14 Del. C. § 4124(b)(2) (SB 106)

Timeline

1. April 9, 2025SB 106 introduced (Sen. Buckson, Rep. K. Williams)
2. July 1, 2025Gov. Meyer signs the FY 2026 one-time supplemental appropriations, including $250,000 for a second year of DDOE's cellphone pilot
3. March 12, 2026Gov. Matt Meyer signs SB 106 (85 Del. Laws c. 238); effective on signature
4. March 17, 2026Delaware Department of Education releases model policy language
5. April 24, 2026DDOE publishes its School Cellphone Pilot Program report
6. August 31, 2026Deadline for districts and charter schools to post their policies online

Where phones must be kept

14 Del. C. § 4124 says nothing about where phones are kept; storage is left to each district or charter policy.

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 SB 106 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 Delaware administrators

1. Confirm your adopted policy is posted on the district or charter website (deadline was Aug. 31, 2026) and was sent to the Department of Education.
2. Check that the policy has all seven required elements, including the instructional-time limit, the required exceptions and a discipline-data monitoring plan.
3. Make sure enforcement does not rest solely on classroom educators.
4. Send any amended policy to the Department within 90 days of the change and post it online.
5. Use DDOE's March 2026 model language as a reference when revising.

State funding in Delaware

Delaware School Cellphone Pilot Program (Delaware Department of Education): $250,000 in FY25 and $250,000 in FY26. Eligible: Delaware LEAs serving grades 6–12. Closed (deadline Nov 4, 2025). FY27 funding hasn’t been announced. Official source.