Come January 1, all California charter and public schools will be required to limit or prohibit student phone use on campus under AB 3216, the state’s new Phone-Free Schools Act.
Local families, students and youth advocates say phones already play a major role in learning, safety and behavior, and the upcoming changes could have ripple effects across Central Coast campuses.
For some students, those impacts are showing up early, even in elementary school.
Fourth grader Victoria Limon, who attends Liberty Elementary School in Santa Maria.
Limon said her mother has not given her a phone yet, and she worries that classmates who rely on devices during class may fall behind later.
“Maybe the thing is hard for you so you decide to cheat and then now you’re in the fifth grade or sixth grade or whatever grade you are in and you don’t understand it and people are not going to teach it to you,” she said.
Other families say cellphones serve a different purpose, not for use during class, but for safety or emergencies.
Julia Schneider, whose daughter attends a charter school in the Santa Ynez Valley, said her daughter only brings a phone because she recently suffered an injury.
“It’s more for communication, you know, if she needs to get a hold of me,” Schneider said. “She did actually recently break her ankle and so I had told her, if it becomes too painful or if you need anything, an emergency or anything like that, just give me a call.”
According to the bill text, AB 3216 was introduced after lawmakers cited research showing that unrestricted phone use in schools contributes to lower academic performance, increased cyber bullying, higher rates of anxiety and depression, classroom disruptions and social media conflicts that continue into the school day.
Schools must adopt formal phone-restriction policies by July 2026, while still allowing exceptions for emergencies, medical needs or individualized education plans.
Youth advocates say the law could help reduce stress on campuses. Edwin Weaver, executive director of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, said online conflicts often escalate into in-person issues at school.
“When we’re asked to do restorative justice on campus many of those fights are starting online. Young people are saying things that they would never say to each other in person online and that’s carrying it onto campus, which is very distracting,” he said.
The Orcutt Union School District says it is already in compliance with the law. Superintendent Holly Edds released the following statement:
The Orcutt Union School District is in compliance with California's Phone-Free School Act (AB 3216), which requires all public schools to have restrictions for cellphone use on campus in place by July 1, 2026.
During the 2024-2025 school year, our district formed a committee of district and school administrators, teachers, parents, and students to research the issue, explore attitudes about cellphone use, look at options for cell phone restrictions that would be in compliance with the law, and ultimately make a recommendation to be implemented in 2025-2026. The committee, which met four times, reviewed research findings about the impact of cellphone use on children and surveyed students, parents, and staff on cell phone use and possible cell phone restrictions.
After considerable discussion, the committee recommended an "off and away" policy for cell phones by which students who bring cellphones to school need to keep them in their backpack, away from their classroom workspace. The co-chairs of the committee (four vice-principals) made a presentation to the OUSD Board of Trustees on the committee's findings and recommendation in April 2025. The cell phone policy has been communicated to OUSD parents/guardians via Parent Square post and the district's Annual Notice to Parents.
Despite differing opinions on how strict schools should be, Limon had one message for other students when talking about phone use in class:
“Don’t cheat, kids!”
Parents who spoke with KSBY said they want to be part of the discussion as districts decide how to implement the new law and balance learning, safety and communication needs.
