Nevada School Cell Phone Law (SB 444): What It Requires

Yes. Nevada has a statewide law on student phones in school. Nevada requires every school district to limit student phone use during instruction, with progressive discipline, effective July 1, 2026. Policies must include exceptions for emergencies, health needs, teacher-allowed use and IEP or 504 plans.

What SB 444 requires

• • Each district's board of trustees must have a policy on pupils' use and possession of electronic communication devices on school premises and at school activities
• • The policy must limit device use during instruction
• • Discipline must use a progressive scale based on the number and seriousness of violations
• • The policy must include exceptions for emergencies or crises, managing health, teacher-allowed instructional use, and IEP or 504 plans
• • The policy must be included in each copy of the district's rules of behavior for pupils

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

The key provision, verbatim

“Prescribe limitations on the use of an electronic communication device during instruction.”

Source: NRS 392.4637(2)(b), as amended by SB 444 (2025)

Timeline

1. May 28, 2025Gov. Joe Lombardo approves SB 444 (Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 92)
2. June 30, 2026Deadline to adopt policies under amended NRS 392.4637
3. July 1, 2026SB 444 takes full effect

Where phones must be kept

NRS 392.4637 requires limits on use during instruction; it does not say where devices must be kept.

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 444 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 Nevada administrators

1. Confirm your policy limits device use during instruction and was adopted by June 30, 2026
2. Build a progressive discipline scale based on the number and seriousness of violations
3. Write in the four required exceptions: emergency or crisis, health, teacher-allowed instruction, IEP/504
4. Include the policy in every copy of the student rules of behavior

How Nevada 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 Nevada district has adopted, from its own published policy:

• • Clark County School District: Students in grades 6–12 put phones in non-locking, signal-blocking pouches during class and may use them at lunch and nutrition breaks.