New Ohio School Cell Phone Policy Signed into Law

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed House Bill 250 into law, which will require every school district in Ohio to establish an official policy governing cell phone usage during school hours and aims to minimize student use of cell phones in K-12 schools. The new law seeks to address the distractions that devices can cause and the negative impact that these distractions have on educational outcomes, peer relationships, and mental health.

Schools will be required to adopt their cell phone policies no later than July 2025, ahead of the 2025-2026 school year. As a result of the new law, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce was directed to develop a model cell phone policy that schools across the state can utilize as they create their cell phone policies.

The law includes exceptions for students who require a cell phone to monitor a health concern or for student learning, as determined by school officials. While the overall goal of the rule is clear – to minimize screen time during school time – the law is not a total ban of cell phone use during the school day. Local school districts will create the policies that work best in their environments.