West Virginia School Cell Phone Law (HB 2003): What It Requires

Yes. West Virginia has a statewide law on student phones in school. West Virginia's HB 2003 bars student access to personal electronic devices for use in classroom settings during instructional time. County boards set storage and penalties, and a classroom setting includes gyms and common areas where instruction occurs.

What HB 2003 requires

• • County boards must adopt a policy for implementation at the beginning of the 2025–26 school year.
• • Personal electronic devices may not be accessible to students for use in a classroom setting during instructional time; "classroom setting" includes classrooms, gyms, common areas and other areas where instruction occurs.
• • Policies must state whether devices are permitted on school property and, if they are, where and how they are stored; counties may require containers or pouches.
• • Policies must exempt students with a documented medical need, IEP, 504 plan or other written accommodation, with a timeline and the specific devices covered; counties may allow devices for approved work-based learning.
• • Policies must set penalties for first, second and later offenses, allow confiscation, and require schools to document violations in WVEIS.
• • Counties must share the rules with students and families, each Local School Improvement Council must review implementation and discipline data yearly, and each school must publish how parents can reach students.

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

The key provision, verbatim

“all personal electronic devices shall not be accessible to students for use in a classroom setting during instructional time, with the exception of exemptions set forth in this policy.”

Source: W. Va. Code § 18-2-47(d)

Timeline

1. April 10, 2025Legislature completes action on HB 2003
2. April 29, 2025Gov. Patrick Morrisey approves HB 2003 (2025 Acts, ch. 93)
3. July 9, 2025The new section (now W. Va. Code § 18-2-47) takes effect, 90 days from passage

Where phones must be kept

Devices must not be "accessible to students for use in a classroom setting during instructional time"; each county decides whether devices may be on school property and, if so, where and how they are stored, and may require containers or pouches.

Because West Virginia's law turns on where the phone physically is, software on a student's phone does not by itself satisfy it. App-based locking, including LockedIn, can only add to the storage the law requires, not replace it.

Checklist for West Virginia administrators

1. Confirm the county policy states whether devices are allowed on school property and, if so, where and how they are stored.
2. Check that violations are recorded in WVEIS and that penalties escalate for repeat offenses.
3. Make sure each medical, IEP or 504 exemption is documented with a timeline and the specific devices allowed.
4. Publish the parent-communication protocol and share the rules through signs, handbooks and school websites.
5. Put the policy and discipline data on each Local School Improvement Council's annual agenda.