(The Center Square) – Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has signed a bill restricting the use of cellphones and iPads in classrooms.
Senate Bill 444 requires every Nevada school district to develop a policy that limits students’ use of electronic communication devices during class time. The bill defines those devices as something that can transmit “any audio, written or pictorial information or messages to another electronic device.” Besides cellphones and iPads, they include students’ laptop computers. The policy does not apply to electronic devices provided by the school district to students.
The new law, which takes effect July 1, 2026, does not explicitly ban students from using electronic devices during class time. However, SB 444 leaves that option open for school districts as a policy choice.
The Nevada Senate Committee on Education acted as the primary sponsor for SB 444.
This bill passed unanimously this spring in the state House and Assembly. Lombardo signed it last week.
SB 444 never mentions the grades or age range for which the school districts’ policies will apply.
In times of emergencies, electronic devices can be used by students. Moreover, these devices are permitted when a teacher allows them for instructional purposes.
Furthermore, this bill requires school districts to develop discipline policies for students who violate the rules.
During a Nevada Senate Education Committee hearing in April, the Nevada State Education Association supported SB 444.
Alexander Marks, the NSEA’s deputy executive director of Field & Communications, said the association considers the bill to be a “commonsense measure to regulate” students’ electronic usage during class time.
“Every educator in the classroom knows about the problems of student cell phone use in classrooms. Personal electronic devices typically serve as distractions, diverting attention away from classroom instruction,” Marks explained.
Nevada is now one of 21 states that have banned or limited cell phone usage in classrooms, according to Ballotpedia.
Neighboring states such as California, Arizona and Utah are also on this list. In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act, which requires every school district, charter school and county office of education to develop cellphone policies by July 1, 2026. In February, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second biggest district and the largest one in California, started its ban on cellphones, smartwatches, AirPods and earbuds.
Nevada’s largest school district, the Clark County School District, implemented a policy at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year that banned students’ cell phone usage during class time.
The school district, which serves the Las Vegas area, requires students to lock their cell phones in “non-locking, signal-blocking pouches.”
CCSD said this new rule would “assist students with academic learning, including minimizing distractions, promoting responsible device use, and ensuring a safe learning environment.”
