TX HB1446

Texas Education Agency must conduct a study on the effects of school district policies that prohibit students from using personal communication devices, including cell phones, while on school property

Study must compare schools using longitudinal data including student population size, college/career/military readiness rates, special education percentages, emergent bilingual student percentages, standardized test scores before policy implementation, economic and gender demographics, and state funding

TEA must assess how device prohibition policies affect standardized test results, teacher turnover rates, student dropout rates, college/career/military readiness outcomes, and teacher job satisfaction rates

TEA may collaborate with other state agencies, schools, nonprofit organizations, and other interested parties in conducting the study

Written report with results and legislative recommendations due to governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, and legislature by December 1, 2026, and must be posted on TEA's website; provision expires January 1, 2027