Write the phone policy once. Let the phone enforce it.
Most state phone laws require a policy and leave enforcement to the school. Here’s what those laws ask for, free tools to write yours, and how LockedIn applies it to every student, the same way every day.
Phone policy
Sample school
- When
- Personal phones are locked from the first bell to dismissal.
- How LockedIn applies it: Locks on campus, on your bell schedule
- Exceptions
- A student with a 504 plan or a medical need keeps the apps they need.
- How LockedIn applies it: 504 plan: only social media, games and entertainment blocked (a one-rule exemption at Guided Access schools)
- Emergencies
- Students can always call home or 911.
- How LockedIn applies it: At most schools the Phone app is never locked; elsewhere a student can step out of the lock to call
- Consequences
- A warning, then the phone stays in the front office, then a parent meeting.
- How LockedIn applies it: Filed to the dean at the student’s step
What the law asks for.
At least 41 states and D.C. have passed laws restricting phones in school. Of those 42 laws, 24 keep phones away from the first bell to dismissal. The other 18 cover instructional time, or tell each district to write its own policy.
Most carve out the same exceptions: 34 of the 42 name IEP and 504 plans, 37 name medical needs, and 23 name emergencies.
From our state-law tracker, last checked October 12, 2026.
What laws ask for, and how LockedIn handles it
A set time of day
Bell to bell, or only during instruction: phones lock on your bell schedule, and free periods like lunch unlock them if your policy allows. Early-dismissal days and breaks are set once.IEP and 504 plans, medical needs
At most schools, put a student on a 504 plan from their row on the dashboard, and LockedIn blocks only social media, games and entertainment for them, so a glucose monitor keeps working. At schools that use Guided Access, exempt the student from one rule instead, such as keeping Bluetooth on for a glucose monitor. Or opt a student out with a note on why.Emergencies
Students can always call home or 911. In a school emergency, one tap unlocks every phone on campus.Educational use, where allowed
Allow an app for every student or only some: at any time, for one day, or at the same time each week. At schools that use Guided Access or screen pinning, these are websites that open inside LockedIn.A record that it’s enforced
The dashboard’s Statistics tab shows compliance, hours locked in and violations for any period, beside the period before it.
Some laws name a storage method, such as lockers or pouches, or require phones to be switched off. Read your state’s entry before you decide how to enforce your policy. This page is a summary, not legal advice. Weighing pouches? See what a Yondr pouch program costs.
Find your state’s law
Bell to bell (24)
Instructional time, or a district policy (18)
Start from a draft, not a blank page.
Free tools for the policy, the family agreement and the guides behind them. The letter to families is further down this page.
- Policy generatorChoose the scope, storage, exceptions and consequences, then print or copy a policy written for your school.
- Family agreementSet your consequences, then print an agreement for the student and a parent to sign.
- Policy template, with examplesWording for each part of a phone policy, and what to watch for.
- Getting families on boardHow to explain the policy before it starts, and answer the pushback.
- The complete guide to phone-free policiesScope, storage, exceptions and enforcement, compared.
Enforce it the same way for every student.
A policy holds when every student gets the same answer. With LockedIn, the phone enforces the rule instead of a teacher, and when a student breaks it, the dean gets the violation with the student’s step on your ladder already on it.
Your consequences
An example
- First violationThis is a warning. Fix it today.
- Second violationYour phone stays in the front office until 3pm.
- Third violation and every one afterWe call home and set up a meeting with a parent.
What the dean sees, in the dashboard’s words
Each flag carries the student’s name, the reason and the fix. Teachers never have to catch any of it.
- Dashboard alert: Never Installed
- Dashboard alert: Possible Uninstall
- Dashboard alert: Fake Device
- Dashboard alert: Mock Location
- Dashboard alert: Using Blocked Apps
The letter to families.
Copy it or download it, fill in the brackets, and send it before launch week. Every line about LockedIn matches our privacy policy, so it will hold up to a parent’s questions.
Families who want more can read the page for families.
phone-free-campus-parent-letter.txt
Dear families, Starting [START DATE], [SCHOOL NAME] will be phone-free during the school day. So that no one has to hand in a phone, we will use LockedIn, an app each student installs on their own phone. How it works • Your child downloads LockedIn (iPhone or Android) and signs in with their school email. It is free for families. • When the phone is on campus during school hours, the apps the school blocks are locked. • When the school day ends, the phone works normally again. Reaching your child • Your child can always call you or 911. • For everyday messages, call the front office, as you always have. • In an emergency, the school can unlock every phone on campus at once. Each phone then lets your child tell staff “I’m safe” or “I need help.” What LockedIn can and can’t see • During school hours, it checks whether the phone is on campus and whether it is locked. It learns “on campus” or “off campus,” never a spot on a map, and it collects no location after school. • The one exception is an emergency the school declares. While it lasts, the location of students on campus, and of any student who asks for help, is shared with school staff. It is erased when the emergency ends. • LockedIn never collects texts, calls, photos, browsing, social media, contacts or files, or which apps your child opens. • There is no device-management profile. The school never takes control of your child’s phone. • Activity records are deleted automatically after 90 days. If your child needs their phone for a medical reason, such as a glucose monitor, or if you would rather your child not use LockedIn, please contact [CONTACT NAME] at [EMAIL OR PHONE]. Answers to common questions are at lockedinapp.co/for-parents. Why we are doing this [One or two sentences, in your own words, about what you hope a phone-free day gives your students.] A London School of Economics study found that phone bans improved test scores by 6.4% of a standard deviation, about five extra days of school a year, with the biggest gains among the lowest-performing students. Thank you for your partnership. [YOUR NAME] [TITLE] [SCHOOL NAME]