Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1258 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3512 AMF-D
2	2	By: Bell of Montgomery H.B. No. 1258
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to public school policies regarding student possession of
10	10	personal communication devices; authorizing a fee.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Smart Students Not
13	13	Devices Act.
14	14	SECTION 2. Section 37.082, Education Code, is amended to
15	15	read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 37.082. POSSESSION OF PERSONAL COMMUNICATION [PAGING]
17	17	DEVICES. (a) Subject to Subsection (d), the [The] board of
18	18	trustees of a school district or the governing body of an
19	19	open-enrollment charter school shall [may] adopt a policy
20	20	prohibiting a student from possessing a personal communication
21	21	[paging] device while on school property during the school day [or
22	22	while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or
23	23	off school property]. The policy may establish disciplinary
24	24	measures to be imposed for violation of the prohibition and may
25	25	provide for confiscation of the [paging] device.
26	26	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [The] policy
27	27	shall [may provide for the district to]:
28	28	(1) require a student who brings a personal
29	29	communication device on school property to turn the device off and
30	30	store the device in a designated storage locker for the duration of
31	31	the school day including, as applicable, during lunch, recess,
32	32	passing periods, or free periods; and
33	33	(2) provide for the confiscation and secure storage of
34	34	a personal communication device of a student who does not comply
35	35	with the requirement of Subdivision (1) while the student is on
36	36	school property during the school day and the return of the device
37	37	to the student's parent or guardian at the conclusion of the school
38	38	day.
39	39	(c) The policy may provide for the district or school to
40	40	[dispose of a confiscated paging device in any reasonable manner
41	41	after having provided the student's parent and the company whose
42	42	name and address or telephone number appear on the device 30 days'
43	43	prior notice of its intent to dispose of that device. The notice
44	44	shall include the serial number of the device and may be made by
45	45	telephone, telegraph, or in writing; and
46	46	[(2)] charge the [owner of the device or the] student's
47	47	parent or guardian an administrative fee not to exceed $15 before
48	48	the district or school [it] releases a confiscated personal
49	49	communication [the] device.
50	50	(d) In adopting the policy, the board of trustees or
51	51	governing body must authorize the possession of a personal
52	52	communication device:
53	53	(1) necessary to implement an individualized
54	54	education program, a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation
55	55	Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), or a similar program or plan;
56	56	(2) by a student with a documented need based on a
57	57	directive from the student's physician; or
58	58	(3) necessary to comply with a requirement imposed by
59	59	law.
60	60	(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
61	61	not liable for damage to or loss or theft of a personal
62	62	communication device confiscated under a policy under this section.
63	63	(f) [(c)] In this section, "personal communication [paging]
64	64	device" means a telephone, cell phone such as a smartphone or flip
65	65	phone, tablet, smartwatch, wearable health tracker, radio device,
66	66	set of earbuds or headphones, paging device, handheld video game
67	67	console, or any other electronic [telecommunications] device
68	68	capable of telecommunication or digital communication [that emits
69	69	an audible signal, vibrates, displays a message, or otherwise
70	70	summons or delivers a communication to the possessor]. The term
71	71	does not include:
72	72	(1) an amateur radio under the control of an operator
73	73	who holds an amateur radio station license issued by the Federal
74	74	Communications Commission; or
75	75	(2) an electronic device provided to a student by a
76	76	school district or open-enrollment charter school.
77	77	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
78	78	school year.
79	79	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
80	80	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
81	81	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
82	82	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
83	83	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.