California passed a smartphone ban in schools that is not being enforced.
Posted by On with Kara Swisher, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
On with Kara SwisherAug 10, 2026
California did pass a law (AB 3216, the Phone-Free School Act) requiring every district to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting pupil smartphone use by July 1, 2026, so the passage part holds, though it is a mandate for district policies rather than a single statewide ban.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… It's digital content. It's It's the unsupervised access to this, where kids, when they're not in school i mean, for example, like, one thing we can do at least is enforce the school smartphone ban. Like, that's one i was i really agree with Gavin on that, except, classic California, we've passed this thing and it's not enforced at all. So, let's at least do that, right? That so you've got wide consensus now that you have should have a smartphone ban in schools, but then, in a way, that puts it on to parents. …
On with Kara Swisher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Multiple districts are actively enforcing their phone policies: Oakland Unified requires students to lock phones up all day, San Jose Unified enforces a bell-to-bell ban, and San Luis Obispo County schools use pouches during class, which contradicts the claim that the ban is not enforced at all.[4][5]
Supports. The California Education Code (section 48901.7) and AB 3216 require school districts, county offices, and charter schools to develop and adopt policies limiting or prohibiting pupil smartphone use by July 1, 2026.[1][2]
Supports. A California Assembly policy committee analysis says enforcement of school smartphone policies 'remains a challenge' and that 'enforcement remains inconsistent' under the state framework.[3]
Context. Parents and reporters describe enforcement as varying by district and school level, with complaints that high schools allow phone access during lunch, so the accurate picture is uneven rather than absent enforcement.[5][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 3 primary, 4 not rated
- 1California Legislative Informationleginfo.legislature.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Governor Newsom signs legislation to limit the use of ...gov.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3[PDF] AB 1644 (Muratsuchi) - Assembly Bill Policy Committee Analysisaedn.assembly.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Here's how Bay Area schools are enforcing cellphone bans on ...abc7news.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5California’s Phone-Free School Act took effect in July, but ...santamariasun.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 6California schools are putting students' phones out of reach. Even teens see an upsidesfchronicle.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7How schools are adjusting to new law | CA Politics 360kcra.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post