Long Beach Unified cellphone restrictions begin ahead of state deadline

Long Beach Unified students returned to school Monday for their spring semester, but under a new policy, classrooms will be free of cellphones.

The district convened a working group of staff, educators, students, parents and caregivers in October 2024 to develop such a policy in response to a California law that requires schools to restrict student cellphone use by July 2026.

The district announced the policy in September, promising the rollout would begin this month.

How does the cellphone ban work?

Here are the basics:

• The policy applies to smartwatches, headphones and gaming consoles.
• Students in transitional kindergarten (TK) through eighth grade must turn off and store their devices when they arrive on campus until they leave, including before- and after-school programs. 
• High school students can use their devices during passing periods and at lunch. 
• Students can’t use their phones in restrooms or on field trips. 

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There are exceptions. Students can use their phones:

• In case of an emergency.
• With administrator permission.
• At the direction of their doctor.
• If they have a disability and using their device is part of an individualized education program (IEP). 

Each school is responsible for creating a plan to implement the district-wide policy and individual teachers may use lockers or other methods to store students' phones.

The district’s policy prohibits specific types of cellphone and social media use, too:

• Cyberbullying on or off campus. 
• Recording or photographing fights, criminal behavior or another person without their permission. “We've had major problems with kids filming inappropriate things in the bathroom, with things like fights,” said Chris Itson, a program administrator in the district’s communications department, during a July 16 board meeting. “It's a motivator because it's ‘Now I can get attention by doing this online.’”
• Impersonating another person online. For example, creating a fake social media profile or posts that falsely represent another student. 

The policy also cites research that shows young people interact less often in-person than previous generations and that social media use can be linked to negative mental health outcomes, including anxiety and depression.

What we know about bans in other districts

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On Feb. 18, 2025, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest public school district in the country, implemented an all-day cell phone ban for its students. Now that it’s the end of the school year, we head to Venice High School to see how the ban actually went.

Did the cellphone ban in LAUSD schools work?

On Feb. 18, 2025, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest public school district in the country, implemented an all-day cell phone ban for its students. Now that it’s the end of the school year, we head to Venice High School to see how the ban actually went.

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