Texas | Distraction Free Schools Policy Project

Welcome to the Texas chapter of the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project!

Who We Are: We are a grassroots movement of parents, grandparents, educators, school leaders, teachers, administrators, child advocates, health professionals, public policy makers, community volunteers, parent groups, teacher associations, child safety nonprofits, pediatric health professionals, and mental health practitioners committed to restoring learning to the classroom by reducing school-based screentime and calling for statewide policy changes to allow Texas youth to be free to focus on education.

What We Do:

Advocate for statewide legislation to make Texas schools places of learning and protect children from harm.
Prepare advocates to contact legislative members, discuss policies, recruit others to join, and testify when needed.
Meet monthly: learn from guest speakers from across Texas, write to legislators and superintendents regarding policy, share resources, and connect with other advocates across Texas.
Accessing Tech Safe Texas on FB to share resources across coalition partners.

TIMELINE

2025: DFS TX testified with Fairplay, David’s Legacy, TalkMoreTechLess, NotOnOurWatch, and Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) to advocate for “Bell-to-Bell” Phone-Free Public Schools for K-12th grade. Texas House Bill 1481, passed during the 89th Legislative Session, requires all school systems to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting the use of personal communication devices by students on school property during the school day. The law took effect on June 20, 2025, and school systems must have a written policy in place no later than September 18, 2025.

For more information regarding this bill: Texas Education Agency.

2026: Currently advocating for the Distraction-Free Schools Model Legislation Package and preparing for the 90th Texas Legislative Session in 2027.

ACTIONS TO TAKE:

Join our Advocacy Team and recruit others to join.
Sign our DFS Texas Letter of Support.
Send the DFS TX School Digital Product Impact Survey to your community.
Send the DFS TX Student & Parent Survey to your community.
Stay updated with our DFS TX Google Doc Up-to-Date page.
Join the Distraction-Free Schools TX Google Group.
Join the DFS national Community of Practice call every first and third Wednesday of the month at 11 AM CST.

Our all-volunteer state team is part of the national Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project, an initiative led by Becca Schmill Foundation and Smartphone Free Childhood U.S.