Silent Mode: Off

With school being back in session, millions of Texan teens have one thing on their minds: not their friends, certainly not schoolwork, and not even the upcoming football games, but rather something infinitely more impactful. Their phones. Or rather, the absence of them.

Thanks to a growing push from school districts across the state in desperate attempts to abide by House Bill 1481, the phones of children in grades K-12 are being snatched right out of their hands and being placed into various different, yet equally foreboding places. From clear phone jails to signal-blocking pouches to outright confiscation policies, which have been enforced since even the first hours on the first day of school, administrators are cracking down harder and harder on the removal of one of every teens most sacred possessions. While many adults are celebrating the phone bans in Texas, claiming that they open up new windows for "uninterrupted learning” and “heightened socialization,” the change has been dubbed a digital lockdown in the minds of students.

As a high-school student in a public school district in Texas, my phone and I have been growing apart for the past couple of weeks. My copious hours of screentime, which may or may not have been concerningly high, have been steadily decreasing. And while I would love to act like this is a terrible thing that I’m devastated about, I must say that at least part of House Bill 1481 was accurate. I, alongside many of my peers, feel more social and less reliant on my phone for communication. Objectively, this is something worth celebrating, but unfortunately, concerns are rightfully rising in regards to safety with this phone ban, and the positive results of it are far outnumbered by worrying statistics.

It can't be denied that schools in 2025 are anything but sunshine and rainbows, and nobody knows that better than the students themselves. From an alarming rise in school threats to the everyday emergencies that parents and students alike have come to rely on phones for, the blanket banning of phones raises some uncomfortable questions.  In an age where school safety is an ever-present concern, where 84 school shootings occurred in the United States just this last year, and where every child fears that they will lose their life to something out of their control at school,  removing students’ access to instant communication with their families doesn’t just feel inconvenient, it feels purposefully frightening.

Though school has only been in session for a solid three weeks by now, I’ve already heard my fair share of genuine concerns from my classmates, and I would be lying if I said that their prospects didn't frighten me to my core. Mentions of school shootings have travelled throughout the hallways of my school, and many children are having one question in particular: in their last moments, would they be able to contact their family to say goodbye? If a real threat was posed, how would their guardians know they were safe until after the fact, possibly having gone hours without knowing if their child was even still alive? Alongside this,many people have pointed out that pictures and videos of our time in school are going to be something we look back on fondly, but now, we are completely banned from doing so. Sure, there isn't tons of time throughout the school day when you aren't meant to be learning, but I can attest to the fact that passing periods and lunch were both detrimental times for my photo albums full of selfies with my friends. 

The point is, being without phones does make complete sense during times that are meant to be instructional, but holding them from the class and enforcing confiscation when people simply pull out their phones to text their parents back as they walk to class is ridiculous. Schools are becoming more and more unsafe as time goes by, so taking away students’ only form of communication right as the world is changing for the worse around students is completely and utterly unbelievable and reasonable behavior, especially considering that the law was passed by individuals meant to protect others.

We can and should have conversations about digital wellness at school, but that shouldn't necessarily mean revoking our digital rights entirely from early in the morning to mid-afternoon. Phone addiction is a real issue, especially among teenagers, but there are far superior ways of conquering that issue, similar to how confiscation of phones exclusively during class would be a complete non-issue.

So yes, my phone and I are growing apart. But not because I wanted space. Because the state decided I didn’t deserve the connection in the first place.

 It is high-time that the students of Texas begin speaking up and standing up for ourselves. Currently, there are several petitions with thousands of signatures which aim to reverse or revamp the phone ban to be more accommodating to students who simply want to live out what should be some of the most fun years of their lives in peace. So, this is your sign to speak up and turn silent mode off, because at the end of the day, no law will magically undo the reality of being a fearful student in the year 2025.

Sources

"Cellphone Ban in Texas Schools: Get Your Questions Answered." San Antonio Express-News, 26 Aug. 2025. San Antonio Express-News

KBTX News. "Bryan‑College Station ISDs Join Texas Schools in Preparing for New Cellphone Ban." KBTX, June 2025. https://www.kbtx.com

"Texas Bill Banning K‑12 Students from Using Cell Phones During School Hours Signed into Law." Click2Houston (KPRC), 20 June 2025. KPRC