Cell Phone Policy Update

 

 

August 5, 2026

Dear ASJUSD Families and Students,

You may have heard that California passed a new law, the Phone-Free School Act (AB 3216), which requires every school district in the state to adopt a policy limiting student smartphone use on campus by July 1, 2026, and to review it every five years going forward. Our Board of Trustees will consider for approval updated versions of our cell phone policy (Board Policy 5131.8) and our technology use agreement (Exhibit 6163.4) at a second reading on August 12. We wanted to walk you through what's changing and why.

Why we're doing this

Cell phones can be a wonderful tool, and they can also pull students away from learning, from each other, and sometimes into conflict, whether that's a distracting video, a text at the wrong moment, or a phone used to record or bully a classmate. The new law gives us a chance to set clearer, more consistent expectations across all three of our schools.

What's changing at Aromas and San Juan (PreK-8)

Starting this fall, PreK-8 students will turn in their cell phones to their teacher at the start of the day. Teachers will secure phones in the classroom and/or school office, and students will get them back at the end of the day. Best practice, and what the research increasingly supports, is for young students not to have phones on campus at all. This approach gets us close to that, while still working for families who want their child to carry a phone to and from school.

Registering the cell phone for Prek8 students

We will also be asking parents of our Prek-Grade 8 students to complete a form through Inform K-12 that will be submitted to your school. Please keep an eye out for this message from Inform K-12 in your email this week. Once you complete the form, the classroom teacher will be informed that your child will be bringing a cell phone to school or not. This registration information will include a request for descriptive details about the phone and the cell phone number. We want to ensure that students only bring cell phones to school that their parents know about. We ask that parents notify us if the cell phone number is changed or replaced during the year. At the beginning of class, all phones will be secured by the classroom teacher and will be available at the end of the school day for the given student. 

What's not changing at Anzar (High School)

Anzar will continue the "phone hotel" system already in place: students place their phone in the classroom phone holder as they walk in, and retrieve it as they leave for their next class. The phones are not to be used during class time. This has worked well, and we're keeping it in place under the updated policy.
 
A note on personal devices including laptops, tablets, etc.

Every student is issued a district Chromebook for their schoolwork, and that's the device we want them using at school. We're asking families to keep personal laptops, tablets, and similar devices at home which includes smart glasses, pagers, iPad, and other communication devices. Two reasons: first, the district can only monitor and filter internet content on district-managed devices, as required by federal law (CIPA); we have no way to do that on a student's personal laptop or tablet. Second, we simply don't have the staffing to troubleshoot or support personal technology. If there's ever a specific instructional reason for an exception, that can be arranged in advance with your school's principal.

What doesn't change

• Students are never prohibited from having a phone in an emergency, or when a teacher/administrator gives permission, when a physician says it's medically necessary, or when it's part of a student's IEP. 
• Families can always reach a student, or a student can reach home, through the school's main office during the day.
• Misuse of a phone (including bullying, recording others without consent, cheating, etc) is still addressed through our existing discipline policies. That hasn't changed.
• The school district and its schools are not liable for any loss or damage to cell phones that your student decides to bring to school.

Thank You

We know any change to a daily routine takes some adjustment, and we appreciate your partnership as we put students' focus and well-being first.
Sincerely,

Barb Dill-Varga
Superintendent 
Aromas-San Juan Unified School District