Monitoring the Session

HB 1481

bill banning student phones during class time

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Caroline FairlyRHouse 87

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the use of personal wireless communication devices by students during instructional time.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

School-issued devices excepted.

The bill requires every Texas school district and charter school to adopt a policy that bans students from using their own phones, tablets, laptops and similar wireless devices during class time. It touches students, teachers, school boards and charter school governing bodies, and it exempts devices the school itself hands out for instruction. On the ground, each classroom must set aside a secure, out-of-sight place where student devices are stored during instructional time, starting right away if the bill passes with two-thirds support or September 1, 2025 otherwise.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on Jun 20, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 3 Republicans, 2 Democrats. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1481 · 2024-12-02

SOLD BY

Rep. Caroline FairlyRHouse 87 Rep. Jared PattersonRHouse 106 Rep. James TalaricoDHouse 50

+ 2 more authors, 82 coauthors

ITEM

relating to the use of personal wireless communication devices by students during instructional time.

WHAT IT DOES

School-issued devices excepted.

The bill requires every Texas school district and charter school to adopt a policy that bans students from using their own phones, tablets, laptops and similar wireless devices during class time. It touches students, teachers, school boards and charter school governing bodies, and it exempts devices the school itself hands out for instruction. On the ground, each classroom must set aside a secure, out-of-sight place where student devices are stored during instructional time, starting right away if the bill passes with two-thirds support or September 1, 2025 otherwise.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 19, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Public Education
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Committee substitute considered in committee
  7. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in formal meeting
  10. Committee substitute considered in committee
  11. Reported favorably as substituted
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Committee report sent to Calendars
  15. Considered in Calendars
  16. Placed on General State Calendar
  17. Read 2nd time
  18. Passed to engrossment
  19. Record vote RV#425
  20. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  21. Read 3rd time
  22. Passed
  23. Record vote RV#470
  24. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  25. Reported engrossed
  26. Received from the House
  27. Read first time
  28. Referred to Education K-16
  29. Co-sponsor authorized
  30. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  31. Considered in public hearing
  32. Testimony taken in committee
  33. Left pending in committee
  34. Co-sponsor authorized
  35. Considered in public hearing
  36. Vote taken in committee
  37. Co-sponsor authorized
  38. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  39. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  40. Committee report printed and distributed
  41. Co-sponsor authorized
  42. Placed on intent calendar
  43. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  44. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  45. Vote recorded in Journal
  46. Three day rule suspended
  47. Record vote
  48. Read 3rd time
  49. Passed
  50. Record vote
  51. Senate passage reported
  52. Reported enrolled
  53. Signed in the House
  54. Signed in the Senate
  55. Sent to the Governor
  56. Signed by the Governor
  57. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 128 yea · 17 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · Apr 24, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 25, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Caroline Fairly

Donors

OccuNet LLC$30KRepublican Party of Texas$16KDixon Gillis$15,626

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Oct 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

OccuNet LLC$30,280.32

OccuNet LLC

$30,280.32

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$30,280.32
Total
$30,280.32
fundraiser $28,327.40Other filed descriptions $1,952.92

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 18, 2025 to Oct 2, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 18, 2025 to Oct 2, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101032922, 101061983, 101070115, 101072872.

Republican Party of Texas$16,250.00

Republican Party of Texas

$16,250.00

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$16,250.00
Total
$16,250.00
media $16,250.00

Also funds 12 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 31, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101072872.

Dixon Gillis$15,625.63
Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

OccuNet LLC

$30,280.32

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$30,280.32
Total
$30,280.32
fundraiser $28,327.40Other filed descriptions $1,952.92

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 18, 2025 to Oct 2, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 18, 2025 to Oct 2, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101032922, 101061983, 101070115, 101072872.

×

Republican Party of Texas

$16,250.00

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$16,250.00
Total
$16,250.00
media $16,250.00

Also funds 12 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 31, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101072872.

Votes5

Senate May 25, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Creighton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 1481 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 25, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Creighton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 1481 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 25, 2025

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to third reading by a viva voce vote.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: Not printed
  • Nay: Not printed
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House Apr 24, 2025

Yea
128
Nay
17
Present, not voting
2
Absent
2
Excused
1
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 470

HB 1481 was passed by (Record 470): 128 Yeas, 17 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 128 (published)
  • Nay: 17 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House Apr 23, 2025

Yea
136
Nay
10
Present, not voting
2
Absent
2
Excused
0
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 425

CSHB 1481 was passed to engrossment by (Record 425): 136 Yeas, 10 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 136 (published)
  • Nay: 10 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses69
For
45
Against
11
On
13
Names

For

  • Association of Texas Professional Educators1 registration
  • Childre at Risk1 registration
  • David’s Legacy Foundation1 registration
  • E3 Alliance1 registration
  • ExcelinEd in Action2 registrations
  • Law Enforcement1 registration
  • Not On Our Watch1 registration
  • Not On Our Watch Texas1 registration
  • Self21 registrations
  • Self; David’s Legacy Foundation2 registrations
  • Self; E3 Alliance1 registration
  • Self; Talk More Tech Less1 registration
  • Self; Texas School Districts Police Chiefs Association1 registration
  • Texas 20362 registrations
  • Texas Association of Community Schools2 registrations
  • Texas Classroom Teachers Association2 registrations
  • Texas PTA2 registrations
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation2 registrations

Against

  • Self9 registrations
  • Self; Families Engaged1 registration
  • Self; In Child’s Best Interest1 registration

On

  • ATPE1 registration
  • Disability Rights Texas1 registration
  • Self4 registrations
  • Self; The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities1 registration
  • TEA3 registrations
  • Texas Association of School Boards1 registration
  • Texas Education 9111 registration
  • Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University1 registration
Sources

69 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 19, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Dec 2, 2024

06/20/2025 E Effective immediately

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed · Senate Committee Report · Enrolled

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Daniel AldersRHouse 6 Jeff BarryRHouse 29 Cecil Bell Jr.RHouse 3 Keith BellRHouse 4 Salman BhojaniDHouse 92 Greg BonnenRHouse 24 John H. Bucy IIIDHouse 136 Benjamin BumgarnerRHouse 63 Angie Chen ButtonRHouse 112 Sheryl ColeDHouse 46 David CookRHouse 96 Philip CortezDHouse 117 Tom CraddickRHouse 82 Pat CurryRHouse 56 Aicha DavisDHouse 109 Jay DeanRHouse 7 Mano DeAyalaRHouse 133 Erin GámezDHouse 38 Cassandra Garcia HernandezDHouse 115 Linda GarciaDHouse 107 Gary GatesRHouse 28 Stan GerdesRHouse 17 Charlie GerenRHouse 99 Vikki GoodwinDHouse 47 R.D. "Bobby" GuerraDHouse 41 Ryan GuillenRHouse 31 Sam HarlessRHouse 126 Cody HarrisRHouse 8 Richard HayesRHouse 57 Cole HefnerRHouse 5 Ana HernandezDHouse 143 Lacey HullRHouse 138 Helen KerwinRHouse 58 Ken KingRHouse 88 Stan KitzmanRHouse 85 Suleman LalaniDHouse 76 Stan LambertRHouse 71 Brooks LandgrafRHouse 81 Jeff LeachRHouse 67 Oscar LongoriaDHouse 35 Janie LopezRHouse 37 Ray LopezDHouse 125 AJ LouderbackRHouse 30 John LujanRHouse 118 Christian ManuelDHouse 22 Armando "Mando" MartinezDHouse 39 Trey Martinez FischerDHouse 116 Don McLaughlinRHouse 80 John McQueeneyRHouse 97 Will MetcalfRHouse 16 Morgan MeyerRHouse 108 Terry MezaDHouse 105 Brent MoneyRHouse 2 Joe MoodyDHouse 78 Penny Morales ShawDHouse 148 Eddie MoralesDHouse 74 Matt MorganRHouse 26 Candy NobleRHouse 89 Mike OlcottRHouse 60 Tom OliversonRHouse 130 Angelia OrrRHouse 13 Dennis PaulRHouse 129 Mary Ann PerezDHouse 144 Dade PhelanRHouse 21 Mihaela PlesaDHouse 70 Richard Peña RaymondDHouse 42 Keresa RichardsonRHouse 61 Jon E. RosenthalDHouse 135 Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93 Lauren Ashley SimmonsDHouse 146 John T. SmitheeRHouse 86 David SpillerRHouse 68 Carl H. TepperRHouse 84 Tony TinderholtRHouse 94 Steve TothRHouse 15 Gary VanDeaverRHouse 1 Denise VillalobosRHouse 34 Wes VirdellRHouse 53 Armando WalleDHouse 140 Trey WhartonRHouse 12 Terry M. WilsonRHouse 20 Erin ZwienerDHouse 45
Sponsors
Brandon CreightonRSenate 4
Cosponsors
Donna CampbellRSenate 25 Adam HinojosaRSenate 27 Lois KolkhorstRSenate 18 José MenéndezDSenate 26 Tan ParkerRSenate 12 Kevin SparksRSenate 31 Royce WestDSenate 23

House committee · Public Education · Committee vote 12 aye, 2 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Education K-16 · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

SB 2365 by Creighton (very similar)

Subjects

Education--Primary & Secondary--Charter Schools

Education--Primary & Secondary--General

Education--School Districts

EMAIL & ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

EDUCATION AGENCY, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 218 words

By: Fairly
H.B. No. 1481

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the use of personal wireless communication devices by

students during instructional time.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 38.0232 to read as follows:

Sec. 38.0232. PERSONAL DEVICE USE BY STUDENTS PROHIBITED.

(a) In this section, “personal wireless communication device”

means any wireless electronic communication device, other than a

device provided to students by a school for instructional purposes,

capable of transmitting and/or receiving data, including cellular

telephones, text messaging devices, laptop computers, and tablet

computers.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 38.0231, the board of trustees

of a school district and the governing body of an open-enrollment

charter school shall adopt policies prohibiting students from using

personal wireless communication devices during instructional time.

(c) Policies adopted under Subsection (a) must require that

classrooms designate a secure, out-of-sight area for the storage of

personal wireless communication devices during instructional time.

SECTION 2. 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.