Kansas phone-free school law (2026): Kansas enacted a bipartisan bell-to-bell ban in March 2026, requiring devices be stored inaccessibly during the school day. School phones remain available for parent contact. Here's what administrators need to know about compliance, scope, and enforcement.
Kansas has a statewide bell-to-bell phone-free school law in effect. Under HB 2299 (2026) — "Bell to Bell, No Cell" — signed by Gov. Laura Kelly 2026-03-19 — every public school in Kansas must keep student personal devices off and out of reach for the entire school day. Effective 2026–27 school year, Kansas now joins the growing majority of U.S. states with a statutory ban on classroom phone use.
What Kansas's Phone-Free School Law Requires
- • Statute: HB 2299 ("Bell to Bell, No Cell"), signed March 19, 2026
- • Scope: bell-to-bell during the school day
- • Effective: 2026–27 school year
- • Storage: lockers, backpacks, cubbies — out of reach
- • Medical exceptions require physician approval
How Kansas Schools Comply
Kansas'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 Kansas schools choose LockedIn
LockedIn is a software-based phone-free campus solution built for Kansas's schools. It provides
OS-level device locking,
campus geofencing, real-time monitoring, and automated compliance reports — exactly what Kansas 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.
What's new in 2026
Kansas became one of the most recent states to enact a bell-to-bell ban when Gov. Laura Kelly signed HB 2299 — the
"Bell to Bell, No Cell" Act — on March 19, 2026. The law replaces previous KSDE non-binding guidance with a binding
statute. School phones remain available for parent contact, and medical exceptions require physician approval.
Verify the law in Kansas
Read the primary source — HB 2299 (2026) — "Bell to Bell, No Cell" — 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
Kansas 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.