Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) Cell Phone Policy, 2026–27

Elk Grove Unified School District phone policy at a glance

Policy

Mobile Communication Devices section of the EGUSD 2026–27 District Handbook

Grades TK–8

No use on campus without permission; devices turned off and out of sight during the school day; students call home on the office phone

Grades 9–12

Allowed during non-instructional time, including lunch and passing periods; in class only with teacher permission

Devices

Phones, smartwatches, earbuds and similar devices

Temporary bans

High school principals may ban use on campus for a specific safety concern, after notifying the superintendent, staff and families

Exceptions

An emergency or perceived danger; teacher or administrator permission; a physician’s determination for the student’s health; an IEP or 504 plan

Violations

Behavior interventions up to formal discipline; the device is confiscated until a parent, guardian or caregiver collects it or the principal decides

Last verified Oct. 12, 2026 against the district’s published policy and the state law it cites. Sources are listed at the end of this page.

What the EGUSD policy says

The handbook defines a mobile communication device as anything portable that can send or receive voice, text or internet data, including phones, smartwatches and earbuds. In transitional kindergarten through grade 8, students may not use one on campus unless a teacher or administrator gives permission, and devices must be turned off and out of sight for the school day. Students in these grades who need to call home use the phones in the school office.

High school is looser. Students in grades 9–12 may use devices during non-instructional time, which the district defines as everything outside time in class with a teacher, including lunch and passing periods. In class, they need a teacher’s permission. High school principals can impose a temporary campus-wide ban when there is a specific safety concern.

At every grade, students must stop using a device when staff ask, even before or after school. A device used when it isn’t allowed is confiscated until a parent, guardian or caregiver picks it up or the principal decides otherwise, and the student may face behavior interventions up to formal discipline.

How it fits California law

California's Phone-Free School Act (AB 3216, 2024) added Education Code 48901.7. It required every district, county office of education and charter school to adopt, by July 1, 2026, a policy that limits or prohibits student smartphone use at school or while under staff supervision, and to update it at least every five years. The law leaves the scope to each district. It requires four exceptions: an emergency or perceived threat of danger, permission from a teacher or administrator, a physician's determination that the student needs the phone for health reasons, and use required by an IEP.

Elk Grove’s handbook cites Education Code 48901.5 and 48901.7 for its exceptions and adds Section 504 plans. Its grade split, with an all-day rule through grade 8 and class-time limits in high school, is a choice the state law leaves to each district.

More detail is in our guide to California’s school phone law and the phone-free school laws by state directory.