Ohio phone-free school law (2026): Ohio's 2025 biennial budget mandates that districts adopt bell-to-bell cellphone policies, replacing the 2024 HB 250 framework. Here's what administrators need to know about compliance, scope, and enforcement.
Ohio has a statewide bell-to-bell phone-free school law in effect. Under HB 96 (2025) — biennial budget; supersedes 2024 HB 250 — signed by Gov. Mike DeWine 2025-06-30 — every public school in Ohio must keep student personal devices off and out of reach for the entire school day. Effective January 1, 2026 (district compliance deadline), Ohio now joins the growing majority of U.S. states with a statutory ban on classroom phone use.
What Ohio's Phone-Free School Law Requires
- • Statute: HB 96 budget bill, signed June 30, 2025
- • Compliance deadline: January 1, 2026
- • Scope: bell-to-bell during the instructional day
- • Replaces: 2024 HB 250 softer framework
- • Emergency-plan exceptions written in
How Ohio Schools Comply
Ohio'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 Ohio schools choose LockedIn
LockedIn is a software-based phone-free campus solution built for Ohio's schools. It provides
OS-level device locking,
campus geofencing, real-time monitoring, and automated compliance reports — exactly what Ohio 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 Ohio
Read the primary source — HB 96 (2025) — biennial budget; supersedes 2024 HB 250 — 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
Ohio 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.