Student cellphone ban takes effect at Madera Unified middle schools. Here’s how it works
Students at Madera Unified middle schools this week began locking up their smart phones while on campus as part of a new policy aiming to curb classroom distractions.
The devices will remain in locked pouches “until the end of the school day” that require a magnetic key to open, according to the school district. There will be exceptions for emergencies.
Madera Unified’s new ban on cell phone use applies to all of its middle schools and Ripperdan Community Day School, an alternative education campus. Superintendent Todd Liles told The Bee on Tuesday that the policy will take effect at the rest of the district’s schools in August.
“We’re piloting this process make sure that we learn from it with the students that are probably the most negatively impacted by the use of cell phones in classrooms and on campus,” Liles said.
Madera Unified’s new rules align with the Phone-free Schools Act signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, which requires districts to create rules that prohibit or limit the use of phones during school hours by July 2026. State law previously made the cell phone bans optional, but school districts across California have continuously struggled to keep students off their personal devices and engaged in class.
“We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues — but we have the power to intervene,” Newsom said in a September statement. “This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school.”
Clovis Unified tightened enforcement of its cell phone policy in August, before the passage of the new state law. Students in Clovis Unified are not allowed to use electronic devices during class unless there is an emergency or teachers authorize phone use for educational purposes.
Kelly Avants, Clovis Unified’s spokesperson, said the new state law will not lead to changes in the district’s practices regarding the use of personal devices. But the district will be updating the language in its policy, which remains somewhat vague, she said.
At Fresno Unified, the policy on cell phone use is more than 20 years old and not well-enforced, but teachers and principals at some schools have figured out ways to keep students engaged and cooperative, The Bee reported last year.
“Teams are working on the policy revisions and will comply with the (state’s) deadline,” a Fresno Unified spokesperson said in an email to The Bee.
How Madera Unified’s cell phone ban works
Liles, the Madera Unified superintendent, said students will show that their phones are locked in their Yondr pouches each morning when they walk through their campus’ weapons detection system and onto school grounds. Liles said Madera Unified purchased the pouches and has already distributed them to students.
The Yondr pouch, which some Fresno schools already use, is made of thick fabric and can only be unlocked using a magnetic key. Liles said there will be magnetic keys available at school offices and around the campuses, including near the exits.
“They touch the lock, it unlocks it very quickly and they’ve got access to their phone all over again right at the end of the day,” he said.
Students are allowed to keep their phones on them in their locked pouches. During instructional hours, the only devices students will be allowed to use for educational purposes are their Chromebook laptops.
“When there’s an emergency, there’s no pouch that’s going to be more important than a life,” Liles said, “so we expect them to just be cut right open so kids have access to them.”
Madera Unified also has phones hardwired into every one of its middle school classrooms, Liles said.
Cell phone policy at Fresno, Clovis schools
Clovis Unified began cracking down on students’ cell phone use at the start of this school year. The district did not implement new rules, but began actively enforcing its existent ban on the use of electronic devices during class time in order to better ensure students are paying attention, Avants told The Bee in August.
Avants said the district’s stricter enforcement was not tied to an August letter from Newsom urging California schools to curb students’ cell phone use. Rather, the directive resulted from conversations with teachers, she said.
“At the elementary level, they’re not expected to have cell phones out, period,” Avants said Tuesday. “In secondary level, which is grades 7-12, they are expected to check them in every class period. Unless a teacher has assigned a specific project for them to work on, (their devices) should be put away.”
At Fresno Unified, the district implemented its ban on the use “portable communication devices” during class time in 2004, before the rise of smart phones and social media. Teachers have long struggled with getting students to comply with the rules, and they have complained that there is no district-wide guidance on enforcement.
Individual schools have had to find ways to curb phone use during class, with some reporting success. Bullard High School in north Fresno has used the Yondr pouch system for more than two years and Newsom cited the high school as a model example.
“Schools and districts, including Santa Barbara Unified and Bullard High in Fresno, have seen positive impacts of limiting smartphones on campus, with some reporting higher test scores, grades, and student engagement, and less bullying and damage to school facilities,” Newsom said in August.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 12:12 PM.
