Why Oakland Unified Is Banning Cellphones
Class is back in session at OUSD schools this week, with one notable change: A strict phone-free policy.
In September 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Phone‑Free Schools Act (AB 3216), which requires every school district, charter school, and county education office to adopt policies by July 1, 2026 that limit or prohibit the use of smartphones by students while on campus or under school supervision.
Class is back in session at OUSD schools this week, with one notable change: A strict phone-free policy.
KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti explains how a statewide mandate has pushed districts across the Bay to pass their own policies banning or restricting phones, and how it’s playing out in Oakland.
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Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.