Phones Go In Lockers All Day Under Bell Bill

The text as introduced · 703 words

89R3512 AMF-D

By: Bell of Montgomery
H.B. No. 1258

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to public school policies regarding student possession of

personal communication devices; authorizing a fee.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Smart Students Not

Devices Act.

SECTION 2. Section 37.082, Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 37.082. POSSESSION OF PERSONAL COMMUNICATION [ PAGING ]

DEVICES. (a) Subject to Subsection (d), the [ The ] board of

trustees of a school district or the governing body of an

open-enrollment charter school shall [ may ] adopt a policy

prohibiting a student from possessing a personal communication

[ paging ] device while on school property during the school day [ or

while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or

off school property ]. The policy may establish disciplinary

measures to be imposed for violation of the prohibition and may

provide for confiscation of the [ paging ] device.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [ The ] policy

shall [ may provide for the district to ]:

(1) require a student who brings a personal

communication device on school property to turn the device off and

store the device in a designated storage locker for the duration of

the school day including, as applicable, during lunch, recess,

passing periods, or free periods; and

(2) provide for the confiscation and secure storage of

a personal communication device of a student who does not comply

with the requirement of Subdivision (1) while the student is on

school property during the school day and the return of the device

to the student's parent or guardian at the conclusion of the school

day.

(c) The policy may provide for the district or school to

[ dispose of a confiscated paging device in any reasonable manner

after having provided the student's parent and the company whose

name and address or telephone number appear on the device 30 days'

prior notice of its intent to dispose of that device. The notice

shall include the serial number of the device and may be made by

telephone, telegraph, or in writing; and

[ (2) ] charge the [ owner of the device or the ] student's

parent or guardian an administrative fee not to exceed $15 before

the district or school [ it ] releases a confiscated personal

communication [ the ] device.

(d) In adopting the policy, the board of trustees or

governing body must authorize the possession of a personal

communication device:

(1) necessary to implement an individualized

education program, a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation

Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), or a similar program or plan;

(2) by a student with a documented need based on a

directive from the student's physician; or

(3) necessary to comply with a requirement imposed by

law.

(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is

not liable for damage to or loss or theft of a personal

communication device confiscated under a policy under this section.

(f) [ (c) ] In this section, " personal communication [ paging ]

device" means a telephone, cell phone such as a smartphone or flip

phone, tablet, smartwatch, wearable health tracker, radio device,

set of earbuds or headphones, paging device, handheld video game

console, or any other electronic [ telecommunications ] device

capable of telecommunication or digital communication [ that emits

an audible signal, vibrates, displays a message, or otherwise

summons or delivers a communication to the possessor ]. The term

does not include :

(1) an amateur radio under the control of an operator

who holds an amateur radio station license issued by the Federal

Communications Commission ; or

(2) an electronic device provided to a student by a

school district or open-enrollment charter school .

SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.