AB 1644: Pupils: use of smartphones: prohibition: report.
- Session Year: 2025-2026
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2026-04-28
Current Status:
In Progress
(2026-04-29: Re-referred to Com. on APPR.)
Introduced
In Committee
First Chamber
In Committee
Second Chamber
Enacted
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school to, no later than July 1, 2026, develop and adopt, and update every 5 years, a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that local educational agency. Under existing law, a pupil shall not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone under specified circumstances, including, among others, when the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupils individualized education program.
This bill, commencing July 1, 2027, would require the above-described policy to continue to apply only to pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive. The bill would instead require the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school that serves pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to, no later than July 1, 2027, develop and adopt, and update at least every 5 years, a policy that prohibits the use of smartphones by those pupils while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that local educational agency. The bill would require the adopted policy to be made available to the State Department of Education upon request. The bill would state that the goal of the policy is to create a bell-to-bell ban of smartphone use to support pupil learning and well-being. agency, as provided. The bill would prohibit instruction provided to pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, from requiring the use of a smartphone by a pupil. The bill would require a pupil in any grade to also be allowed to possess or use a smartphone when the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupils plan developed pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2028, to submit to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, and post on their internet website, a report that contains (1) a description of the pupil smartphone policies of at least 30 chosen local educational agencies that are representative of the demographic and geographic diversity of the state, including a copy of each policy, as provided, (2) the results of a survey of those local educational agencies, which the bill would require the department to conduct, and (3) recommended best practices for future local educational agency pupil smartphone use policies. The bill would authorize the department to collaborate with specified organizations with relevant expertise in preparing the report. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
