By Jasmin Rogel
Image created by Canva AI
The Texas House Bill 1481, commonly known as "The Cell Phone Ban Law," passed during the 89th Legislative Session on June 20, 2025. This new law requires all school systems to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting the use of personal communication devices by students on school property during the school day. The most talked-about reason for this ban being implemented was based on the number of schools that had reported there was a lack of students participating in activities such as sports and classwork. "Governor Abbott emphasized that House Bill 1481 will ensure Texas students are able to succeed in school, free from distractions."
Moreover, as stated in the Texas Education Agency site, the law must exempt students with Individualized Education Program (IEP), a Section 504 plan or similar plan, and students with health issues that may need medical assistance. Some schools may choose to include foreign students as part of the exception due to their inability to read excerpts that are that of the English language. Maria, a student from Brazil who recently moved to Veterans Memorial High School, notes: “It’s not something that I hate or love because translating can always be done in our school computers. Although there are definitely bigger disadvantages from this change.”
This begs the question from all around the world whether the law has seen progress in students’ behavior and academic performance. Dr. Diaz, the academic dean at Veterans Memorial High School, states: “We have had a significantly large change in both A and AB honor roll students with roughly 500 AB honor roll student increase and 720 for the A honor roll. Not to mention the amount of students that have started checking in library books. There’s been more social interaction seen happening from all around the school, including classes for educational purposes, hallways and lunchrooms. I’m all for the cellphone ban law!”