Minnesota School Cell Phone Law (SF 3567): What It Requires

Yes. Minnesota has a statewide law on student phones in school. Minnesota required every school district and charter school to adopt a policy on student cell phone possession and use by March 15, 2025. The law sets no statewide scope, and 2026 proposals for a statewide ban did not become law.

What SF 3567 requires

• • Each school district and charter school must adopt a policy on students' possession and use of cell phones in school (deadline March 15, 2025)
• • The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association and Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals must make best practices available to schools

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 school district or charter school must adopt a policy on students' possession and use of cell phones in school by March 15, 2025.”

Source: Minn. Stat. § 121A.73

Timeline

1. May 17, 2024Gov. Tim Walz signs SF 3567 (2024 Minn. Laws ch. 109), creating § 121A.73
2. March 15, 2025Deadline for every district and charter school to adopt a cell phone policy
3. September 14, 2026FOX 9 reports a state senator plans a statewide bell-to-bell bill for the next session

Where phones must be kept

§ 121A.73 requires only that a policy exist; scope, storage and exceptions are left to each district and charter school.

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 SF 3567 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 Minnesota administrators

1. Confirm your district or charter has a board-adopted policy on student cell phone possession and use
2. Decide the scope (class time, school day or bell-to-bell), storage and exceptions, since state law leaves them to you
3. Review the principals' associations' best-practice resources when updating the policy
4. Watch the 2027 session for a statewide bell-to-bell bill

How Minnesota districts are carrying it out

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

• • Saint Paul Public Schools: Personal devices are not allowed during school hours; any a student carries must be completely off and out of sight (Policy 550.00).
• • Minneapolis Public Schools: High schoolers may use phones before and after school, at lunch and in passing time; middle and elementary schools are stricter (Policy 5210).