Keep it with you.
Students may keep a silenced device in a pocket, bag, or backpack. Having it is not the same as using it.
A BETTER PHONE RULE FOR UTAH SCHOOLS
Keep it with you.
Put it away in class.
Use it when your teacher says yes.
Students should be able to keep a silenced device in a pocket or bag. Teachers should decide when it belongs in a lesson. If schools want stricter rules, they should show those rules are working.
SILENT + OUT OF SIGHTTEACHERS DECIDECONSEQUENCES FOR MISUSE
THIS ACTIVITY
APPROVEDPut it away when the activity ends.PHONE
POLICY / .ORG
POLICY / .ORG
HAVING IT ISN'T USING IT
PUT IT AWAY DURING CLASS✦USE IT WHEN A TEACHER SAYS YES✦CONSEQUENCES FOR MISUSE✦PUBLISH THE RESULTS
01 / WHAT UTAH LAW SAYS
JULY 1, 2026
Utah now defaults to bell-to-bell. Local boards still have options.
Utah Code §53G-7-227 now makes no student use of cellphones, smartwatches, or similar personal technology the statewide default for the full school day, including lunch and passing time.
The law regulates use, not possession. It also lets local education agencies define additional times when use is allowed. That means a district or charter board can adopt a written teacher- permission policy now. Making that option a statewide guarantee would require another change to the law.
02 / OUR PLAN
The Carry +
Permission rule
Students keep devices with them, put them away during instruction, and ask before using them. The same rule covers phones, headphones, watches, and other connected personal devices.
Put it away.
During instruction, devices stay silent, put away, and out of sight. Teachers get a clear rule they can enforce.
Ask before using it.
A teacher may approve a specific use for learning, accessibility, translation, or logistics when local policy allows it.
Misuse has consequences.
Cheating, harassment, recording without permission, and repeated disruption should bring individual, proportionate consequences.
WHAT THIS POLICY SUPPORTS
- Teacher authority during instruction
- Device-free tests, labs, and sensitive discussions
- Emergency, SafeUT, medical, IEP, and 504 access
- Age-appropriate rules and parent involvement
- Equivalent options for students without devices
WHAT THIS POLICY DOES NOT PROTECT
- Cheating or unauthorized AI use
- Recording people without permission
- Bullying, harassment, threats, or explicit material
- Ignoring a direct instruction to put a device away
- Active audio in safety-sensitive settings
03 / WHAT A PHONE RULE WON'T FIX
A lockbox is not a learning plan.
Phones can be distracting, and putting them away can help. But a stricter rule will not, by itself, improve attendance, catch students up, expand counseling, or fix inconsistent discipline. Schools should measure what the rule changes—and keep working on the problems it cannot solve.
23.8%of Utah K–12 students were chronically absent in 2025
A phone rule alone will not solve chronic absence.
OFFICIAL UTAH SOURCE ↗1:499statewide student-to-school-counselor ratio cited in a 2025 USBE analysisThe national recommendation cited there is 1:250.
OFFICIAL UTAH SOURCE ↗59,517instructional days lost to discipline in Utah’s 2025 reportSchools should check whether new enforcement affects some student groups more than others.
OFFICIAL UTAH SOURCE ↗WHAT SHOULD SCHOOLS TRACK?
Before calling the policy a success, show what changed.
- Attendance and academic indicators
- Device incidents and educator workload
- Discipline and confiscation by student group
- Bullying, belonging, and accessibility complaints
04 / WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS
Phones can distract students.
The case for broad bans is still unsettled.
Research supports limiting active, unguided use during instruction. It does not show that every bell-to-bell policy improves every outcome, or that a silent phone in a pocket causes the same problem as active use. Utah schools should pilot policies, publish results, and revise what does not work.
01↗02↗03↗
22 studies
The overall evidence is mixed.
In a 2024 peer-reviewed review, four causal academic findings were positive and three were null. Evidence on wellbeing and cyberbullying was inconclusive.
1,227 students
Stricter rules were linked to less use at school, but not better measured outcomes.
A 2025 study of 1,227 students at 30 English secondary schools found no link between restrictive policies and better attainment, sleep, behavior, or mental wellbeing.
National pouch study
Pouches cut phone use. Average test scores barely moved.
A 2026 working paper found that lockable pouches sharply reduced phone use. Average test-score effects were near zero, and discipline rose at first. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
The sources above do not say bans never help or phones are harmless. They show that results depend on the policy, the school, and the outcome being measured.
05 / UTAH SCHOOLS ALREADY DO THIS
This approach already exists in Utah.
Teachers may approve devices for a lesson
Canyons' June 2026 policy lets high school students use personal devices at lunch and between classes. Teachers can also approve them for a specific activity.
View the policy ↗The rule covers earbuds, too
Cache County's grades 7–12 rules include earbuds. Teachers and administrators can approve educational use, and students without devices must have another option.
View the procedures ↗06 / SIGN THE PETITION
Ask Utah schools to let teachers decide.
Tell Utah lawmakers and local school leaders: keep phones put away during class, but do not treat a silent device as a disruption.
We ask Utah leaders to:
- Let students keep a silenced device with them.
- Let educators approve a specific classroom use under a written local policy.
- Use the same rule for headphones, earbuds, watches, and other connected devices.
- Give individual, graduated consequences for actual misuse.
- Keep emergency, SafeUT, medical, and disability access protected.
- Publish what changes in learning, attendance, safety, school climate, and educator workload.
- Amend §53G-7-227 so the Carry + Permission rule becomes Utah's statewide baseline.
Students should be trusted to follow a clear rule—and held accountable when they do not.
—
UTAH SUPPORTERS
Checking the live count…07 / PRINTABLE SIGNS
Say it clearly.
Keep it respectful.
Twenty-two printable signs. Some are board-meeting calm. Some say the quiet part out loud.
Open the printable sign pack ↗TEACHER IN CHARGE.PhonePolicy.org
MAKE THE CALL.PhonePolicy.org
WORKING?PhonePolicy.org
NOT SOLVE EVERYTHING.PhonePolicy.org
STUDENTS LEARN?PhonePolicy.org
STUDENT SPEECH / KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
You have rights.
Use them carefully.
Public-school students have First Amendment rights. Schools can still enforce lawful, viewpoint-neutral rules about disruption and the time, place, and manner of distributing materials. But a school should not target a viewpoint simply because it is unpopular.
If you think a school is trying to silence your viewpoint, stay calm. Ask for the written policy and a written reason. Save dates, messages, and copies of the material. Involve a parent, guardian, or another trusted adult before escalating.
Learn the high-school rules.
Read FIRE's overview of student speech rights, limits, and major court cases.
Ask a Utah civil-rights group.
ACLU of Utah accepts civil-rights help requests, but it does not promise representation or emergency help.
Request help from ACLU of Utah ↗Tell a free-speech attorney what happened.
IFS accepts requests involving speech, publishing, assembly, and petition rights. Sending the form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Contact the Institute for Free Speech ↗FIRE, ACLU of Utah, and the Institute for Free Speech have not endorsed PhonePolicy.org and cannot promise help. This page is general information, not legal advice.
08 / BRING IT TO YOUR BOARD
Turn a signature
into a local proposal.
Utah's process calls for input from students, parents, educators, and community members. Sign the petition, then ask your district or charter board to put this proposal on an agenda.
Find your current rule.
Search your district or charter site for “personal electronic device policy.” Mark where local discretion is already used.
Bring a few people.
Invite a student, parent, educator, and accessibility advocate if you can. A mixed group shows how the policy affects different people.
Ask for a public discussion.
Request the Carry + Permission language, a one-semester pilot, baseline data, and a date to review the results.
ONE-MINUTE BOARD COMMENT
“Good evening. My name is [name], and I am a [role] in [community]. I am asking the board to adopt the Carry + Permission Standard…”
A MESSAGE TO SHARE
Phones do not belong everywhere. Teachers should decide when they belong in class.
Keep it with you. Put it away in class. Use it with permission. #PhonePolicy
See the 90-day organizing plan ＋
Prepare
Invite students, parents, educators, and accessibility advocates. Check the model language, ask 15–25 Utahns what is unclear, and do not claim endorsements you do not have.
Launch
Publish the petition, a short video, the evidence page, and the board comment together. Aim for 1,000 verified Utah supporters across 15 local education agencies.
Organize
Give public comment, meet with legislators, ask USBE for a permission-first model policy, and invite an educator and disability advocate to help shape the proposal.
Pilot
Ask one district or charter school to try the rule for a semester, track baseline data, and set a date to review the results.
09 / COMMON QUESTIONS
The details matter.
Here is how the proposal handles classroom control, emergencies, misuse, and access.
Are you asking students to scroll during class?＋
No. The default during instruction is simple: silent, put away, and out of sight. A teacher can approve a specific use and end it at any time.
Is this anti-teacher?＋
No. Teachers control use in their classrooms. Administrators should handle repeated problems, and no teacher has to include personal devices in a lesson.
Does Utah law allow this?＋
Utah now prohibits student use bell-to-bell by default, but the law lets local education agencies define additional permitted uses. Making permission-first a guaranteed statewide option would require a change to the statute.
Does state law require pouches or confiscation?＋
No. State law regulates use and does not require one storage method statewide. Districts and charters can add storage or confiscation rules; we want on-person storage and consequences tied to actual misuse.
What about headphones, earbuds, and watches?＋
The same rule applies: put them away during instruction unless a teacher approves them or an accommodation requires them. No audio in labs or other safety-sensitive settings unless staff allow it.
What about emergencies and accessibility?＋
Current law already protects use during imminent threats and schoolwide emergencies, as well as SafeUT, IEP or 504, and medically necessary use. This proposal keeps those protections and supports clear emergency plans that do not depend on one device.
What happens after misuse?＋
First, give a quiet reminder and require the device to be put away for the rest of class. Repeated misuse can lead to parent contact, an individual plan, or same-day administrative storage. Serious conduct still follows normal discipline rules.
What if a student does not own a device?＋
Nothing. This proposal does not require students to own a device. Any device-based activity must also have a school-provided or non-device option, consistent with Utah’s rule.
READY TO BACK THE PLAN?