Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs school cellphone ban bill in Amarillo on Friday

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott is set to visit Amarillo on Friday and ceremonially sign legislation passed during the recent legislative session to restrict the use of phones in schools, which was authored and championed by local Texas State Representative Caroline Fairly.

The governor’s office said Abbott will visit AmTech Career Academy on Friday afternoon for the bill signing and will be joined by several other representatives and state and local officials, including:

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• Texas State Representative Caroline Fairly of Amarillo;
• Texas State House of Representatives Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock;
• Texas State Representative Jared Patterson of Frisco;
• Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock;
• Amarillo Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Deidre Parish; and
• Amarillo High School Teacher Mellessa Denny.

House Bill 1481 will be in effect during the 2025-2026 school year for public schools and open-enrollment charter schools. As noted in previous reports, schools and districts will be required to create policies to either store students’ cell phones and personal communications devices (tablets, smartwatches, radios, pagers, etc.) during the school day or ban them on campus.

Fairly, the first-term Amarillo representative, authored the bill and pitched it as a means to boost young Texans’ mental health.

“The passage of HB 1481 marks an important step toward restoring focus and connection in our classrooms,” Fairly shared in a statement in June, as reported by KXAN. “By creating a phone-free environment, we’re giving teachers the tools to teach without disruption and students the space to learn, think critically, and engage with one another face-to-face. This bill puts education, not screen time, at the center of the school day. I anticipate not only seeing major jumps in GPA’s and test scores, but improvements in mental health and social wellbeing as well.”

Other states have enacted similar bans in recent years, including California and Florida, though the specific policies vary in severity and allowances for local discretion.

Cellphone bans in schools have gained support from those who say they are a distraction to learning and pose dangers to children through social media access. However, they have been vocally opposed by some parents who insist they need to be able to contact their children during the day in case of emergencies or for other needs, such as coordinating transportation.

During the recent 89th Regular Legislative Session in Texas, Fairly also championed the App Store Accountability Act (Senate Bill 2420), set to go into effect in January 2026. That bill requires app store operators like Apple and Google to verify user ages and seek parental consent for minors to download apps or make in-app purchases.