Fort Worth ISD Cell Phone Policy, 2026–27

Fort Worth ISD phone policy at a glance

Policy

FWISD Personal Communication Device Restrictions Policy, adopted under Texas HB 1481

Hours

The whole school day: class time, lunch, hallways and passing periods

Allowed

Before the school day begins and after the final bell

Devices

Phones, smartwatches, wireless earbuds, tablets, gaming devices and Bluetooth headphones

1st offense

A parent or guardian picks the device up at the end of the day

2nd offense

7-day confiscation

3rd offense

14-day confiscation

4th offense

6–10 days of on-campus intervention and a 30-day confiscation

5th offense

DAEP placement and a semester-long confiscation

Exceptions

Assistive technology in a current IEP or 504 plan; medical use with physician documentation

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 Fort Worth ISD policy says

All personal communication devices must be turned off and out of sight during the school day, including class time, lunch, hallways and passing periods. Students may use them only before the school day begins and after the final bell. Parents who need a student during the day call the school’s front office, and the district asks families not to call or text students directly.

Penalties climb with each offense: end-of-day pickup by a parent, then a 7-day and a 14-day confiscation, then 6–10 days of on-campus intervention with a 30-day confiscation, and finally a DAEP placement with a confiscation for the semester. For extended confiscations, parents choose whether the device stays at home or stays locked at school. Refusing to hand over a phone counts as defiance under the Student Code of Conduct and can lead to suspension or an alternative placement.

Students with documented accommodations in a current IEP or 504 plan may use assistive technology as the plan specifies, and a student can use a device for medical purposes with documentation from a physician. During an emergency, families get updates from the school through official channels.

How it fits Texas law

Texas HB 1481, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025, added Texas Education Code 37.082. Every district and open-enrollment charter school must have a written policy that bars students from using a personal communication device on school property during the school day. A district can meet it by banning devices from school or by setting a storage method. Policies must allow use needed for an IEP, a Section 504 or similar plan, a qualified physician's directive, or a health or safety requirement of law or of the district's safety protocols. They must set discipline and may allow confiscation and, after 90 days' written notice to the parent, disposal of a confiscated device. The Texas Education Agency set the adoption deadline at Sept. 18, 2025.

Fort Worth ISD meets the law with a storage rule (off and out of sight) rather than a ban on bringing phones.

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