OUSD Cellphone Ban for Students Takes Effect on the First Day of the School Year
As Oakland students arrive back on campus on Monday, they’ll start their school year with a new daily routine — locking their cellphones away in boxes and pouches, instead of having access to them on campus.
The Oakland Unified School District in June approved a cellphone ban on its 80 campuses, in line with a state mandate that took effect over the summer.
OUSD’s policy, according to Superintendent Denise Saddler, is simple: “Every school day is now a Cell Phone Free Day.”
“During class, between classes, and during lunch, students will not be allowed to use their cell phones except in limited circumstances,” she wrote in a letter to families in July.
How schools restrict cellphones on campus has become a controversial issue for districts across the state, as they balance concerns about distraction and cyberbullying with some parents’ desire to maintain communication with their children throughout the day.
Bay Area school districts in San Mateo, San José and Marin have tightened cellphone restrictions in recent years, and in 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation requiring districts to develop rules restricting student cellphone use during school by July 1.
Oakland’s enforcement methods will be two-fold: at most elementary campuses, students will be required to put their phones in classroom lockboxes, while at the secondary level, students will put their devices in individual pouches, called Yondr Pouches, that lock during school hours.
Phone bans have already been in effect at some campuses, including Life Academy in East Oakland, which piloted the Yondr Pouch system during the 2025-26 school year.
At the sixth through eighth grade campus in East Oakland, students are required to put their phone in the lockable, fabric bag at the start of the school day.
Their first period teacher — which for middle schoolers is an advisory and varies for high schoolers depending on their schedule — is required to do a pouch check each morning, according to eighth grade humanities teacher Gabriel Kahn.
Students keep their devices, which are locked in their pouch, throughout the day. It is unlocked at dismissal, according to OUSD.
“The results were phenomenal,” Kahn said. “We saw a decrease in school drama, we saw an increase in focus, we saw an increase in attention from our students.”
One of the biggest differences, he said, is how often students left class to use the restroom. He said in his classroom, student bathroom use decreased by about 80% compared to previous years.
“We do a pretty good job of making sure kids aren’t on their phones in the room, but when they go to the bathroom, it’s an unmonitored space,” Kahn said. “If their phone isn’t put away in a Yondr Pouch, you can best believe that they’re on their phone.”
Blake Rodgers, a rising senior at Oakland Tech, said she understands the district’s desire to eliminate distractions, but worries about safety without her phone, especially after a shooting and other recent violence on OUSD campuses.
“It’s really hard to get in contact with people, even with your phone,” she said. “Without a phone, I think people will be completely left in the dark, and that is a scary thing to be in.”
While OUSD’s policy rolls out next week, other districts have been using Yondr Pouches for years, including the San Mateo-Foster City School District, which rolled out the technology in the fall of 2022. San Mateo’s high school district also utilizes the pouches on multiple campuses.
In Marin, the Tam Unified School District has required students to put their phones in numbered pouches during class periods since 2024, but strengthened its policy ahead of this fall, introducing locked plastic storage boxes that will block all use during the school day.
San Francisco’s school district avoided implementing a full ban, opting instead to maintain its existing cellphone policy, which states that “mobile communication devices shall be turned off and put away during instructional time, including during passing period.”
According to Saddler’s letter, Oakland students will be allowed to access their phones under multiple circumstances per the state law, including if they have a health or safety emergency, or when a teacher, administrator or doctor authorizes it.