Facing investigation from the state, North East Independent School District is holding firm on a cellphone policy it implemented after state lawmakers passed a ban on students using “communication devices” during the school day.
Taking effect in June, school districts were given until Sept. 18 to implement their own policies to comply with House Bill 1481, which passed during the 89th Legislative Session.
While most Texas school districts use systems banning students from accessing their personal devices during the entire school day, North East’s policy, adopted Aug. 7, is less strict.
North East students are not allowed to access their phones during “instructional time,” which the district defined as class periods. Students can use their phones during passing periods and lunch.
On Sept. 24, the district’s cellphone policy drew a “notice of compliance review” from the Texas Education Agency informing North East that it’s under investigation after receiving complaints that the district wasn’t complying with the new education law.
The district also came under fire from several lawmakers, notably state Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), asking the district to comply with HB 1481.
Superintendent Sean Maika responded to the TEA with a four-page letter on Oct. 1, defending North East’s policy and inviting a TEA representative to the district’s next board meeting.
North East’s school board met on Monday, where trustees discussed the policy, standing by it and taking no action to change it. TEA officials were not present, and Maika said he hadn’t received a response to his letter as of the meeting.
The actual text of HB 1481 requires public schools to implement policies banning students from “using personal communication devices while on school property during the school day.”
While the bill defines personal communication devices as a telephone, cell phone, tablet, smartwatch, radio device, paging device or any other electronic device, the bill doesn’t define “school day.”
Maika pointed to this distinction to justify North East’s definition of school day as strictly class periods.
Ricardo Lopez, legal counsel for North East, said state education code also allows for school districts to adopt their own policies when issues aren’t designated by law to the TEA or the State Board of Education.
“There’s that element of local control that you have to make those decisions where the legislature did not specifically define what was meant by the terms used in that particular bill,” Lopez said.
In its initial guidance to school districts, TEA defined the school day as “instructional time.” Later, the agency said a school day meant the time period from the first bell of the day to the last bell.
“We can all agree cellphones during classroom time just shouldn’t happen,” Maika said, but HB 1481 was poorly written, he added.
Maika also maintained that the district’s policy was in compliance with the “spirit” of the new education law.
In fact, the district piloted different types of cellphone restrictions across its campuses during the 2024-25 school year before HB 1481 was passed. Through that process, district officials gathered feedback from teachers, students and parents.
Parents were especially concerned with being able to communicate with their children during emergency situations. Maika also said some students need access to cellphones during school hours for several reasons, including students involved in afterschool activities, students with medical needs and students who may need to communicate with employers or college recruiters.
During the 89th regular session, lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 12, an education bill that codified parental rights by stamping down on discussion about sexual orientation, gender identity and LGBTQ+ issues in classrooms and requiring schools to get parental consent for several school-based health services.
North East officials also used this new law to defend its cellphone policy, emphasizing parents’ support.
During the board meeting’s public comment period, several parents spoke in favor of the policy, asking trustees to keep the policy the same.
As of Monday’s meeting, Maika said he hadn’t received a single complaint about the district’s policy.
“I feel like we did it all right…I don’t care what other districts are doing,” he said to the board Monday night. “I answer to this [North East] community.”
It is unclear when the TEA will respond to the district or when it will issue a finding.
Lopez said the agency’s investigation could either result in violation found with North East’s policy or an order for the district to take “corrective action.”
