Georgia phone-free school law (2026): Georgia bans personal electronic devices for K–8 students throughout the school day starting July 1, 2026. Here's what administrators need to know about compliance, scope, and enforcement.
Georgia has a statewide bell-to-bell phone-free school law in effect. Under HB 340 (2025) — "Distraction-Free Education Act" — signed by Gov. Brian Kemp 2025-05-09 — every public school in Georgia must keep student personal devices off and out of reach for the entire school day. Effective July 1, 2026, Georgia now joins the growing majority of U.S. states with a statutory ban on classroom phone use.
What Georgia's Phone-Free School Law Requires
- • Statute: HB 340 (Distraction-Free Education Act), signed May 9, 2025
- • Scope: K–8 bell-to-bell prohibition
- • Effective: July 1, 2026
- • High schools: policy left to local boards
- • Exceptions: medical, IEP/504, emergencies
How Georgia Schools Comply
Georgia's bell-to-bell scope is the strictest model — phones must be inaccessible from the first bell to dismissal, including lunch, passing periods, and study halls. That makes enforcement and documented compliance the hard part, not the policy itself.
Three enforcement models
- • Physical pouches (e.g., Yondr): high per-student cost, daily distribution logistics, and limited compliance data.
- • District storage (lockers, cubbies, classroom caddies): lowest cost but relies on staff to police compliance.
- • Device-level software (LockedIn): OS-level locking, geofencing, and automated compliance reporting — no daily logistics.
Why Georgia schools choose LockedIn
LockedIn is a software-based phone-free campus solution built for Georgia's schools. It provides
OS-level device locking,
campus geofencing, real-time monitoring, and automated compliance reports — exactly what Georgia administrators need to demonstrate that the policy is being enforced. Unlike physical pouches, there's no hardware to lose, replace, or distribute. See our full
comparison of phone-free campus solutions or the
LockedIn vs Yondr pouches guide.
Verify the law in Georgia
Read the primary source — HB 340 (2025) — "Distraction-Free Education Act" — and confirm the latest guidance with your state agency before adopting policy.
See our complete phone-free school laws by state directory for legislation updates across all 50 states + DC.
Get started
Georgia schools can be phone-free in less than a day with LockedIn. Use our free phone-free school policy generator to draft a compliant policy, then contact our team to deploy district-wide.