Vermont phone-free school law (2026): Vermont enacted a bell-to-bell ban prohibiting K–12 students from using personal devices throughout the school day, taking effect for the 2026–27 school year. Here's what administrators need to know about compliance, scope, and enforcement.
Vermont has a statewide bell-to-bell phone-free school law in effect. Under H.480 / Act 72 (2025) — signed by Gov. Phil Scott 2025-06-27 — every public school in Vermont must keep student personal devices off and out of reach for the entire school day. Effective 2026–27 school year, Vermont now joins the growing majority of U.S. states with a statutory ban on classroom phone use.
What Vermont's Phone-Free School Law Requires
- • Statute: H.480 / Act 72, signed June 27, 2025 by Gov. Phil Scott
- • Scope: bell-to-bell during the school day
- • Effective: 2026–27 school year
- • AOE develops model policy with VSBA, VISA, and the VT Coalition for Phone and Social Media Free Schools
- • Statutory exceptions for IEP/504 and medical
How Vermont Schools Comply
Vermont'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 Vermont schools choose LockedIn
LockedIn is a software-based phone-free campus solution built for Vermont's schools. It provides
OS-level device locking,
campus geofencing, real-time monitoring, and automated compliance reports — exactly what Vermont 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 Vermont
Read the primary source — H.480 / Act 72 (2025) — 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
Vermont 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.