2025 25LSO-0273
STATE OF WYOMING
SENATE FILE NO. SF0021
Ban on cell phone use in schools.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Schuler and Representative(s)
Brown, L, Clouston and Larson, JT
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to education; requiring school districts to
2 adopt policies prohibiting students from using cell phones
3 and smart watches in schools as specified; providing
4 exceptions; providing a definition; specifying
5 applicability; and providing for effective dates.
6
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
8
9 Section 1. W.S. 21-3-110(a) by creating a new
10 paragraph (xliv) is amended to read:
11
12 21-3-110. Duties of boards of trustees.
13
14 (a) The board of trustees in each school district
15 shall:
1 SF0021
 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0273
1
2 (xliv) Adopt policies to prohibit students from
3 using cellular telephones and smart watches during
4 instructional time. For purposes of this paragraph, "smart
5 watch" means a wearable computing device that closely
6 resembles a wristwatch or other time keeping device with
7 the capacity to act in place of or as an extension of a
8 person's cellular telephone. "Smart watch" does not include
9 a wearable device that can only tell time, monitor a
10 person's health information or track a person's location.
11 Policies adopted under this paragraph shall not prohibit
12 students from using cellular telephones and smart watches
13 under any of the following circumstances:
14
15 (A) In the case of an emergency or in
16 response to a perceived threat of danger;
17
18 (B) When an employee of the school district
19 authorizes a student to use a cellular telephone or a smart
20 watch;
21
22 (C) When using a cellular telephone or a
23 smart watch is included in a student's individualized
2 SF0021
 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0273
1 education plan or plan developed under section 504 of the
2 Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended;
3
4 (D) When a health care provider determines
5 that the use of a cellular telephone or a smart watch is
6 necessary to manage a student's health care.
7
8 Section 2. Not later than July 1, 2025, each school
9 district board of trustees shall establish policies in
10 accordance with this act.
11
12 Section 3.
13
14 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this
15 section, this act is effective July 1, 2025.
16
17 (b) Sections 2 and 3 of this act are effective
18 immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a
19 bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of
20 the Wyoming Constitution.
21
22 (END)
3 SF0021


Statutes affected:
Introduced: 21-3-110