Olympia School District families who count on kids having phone access at lunch would lose that option under Gov. Bob Ferguson's proposed statewide cellphone ban.

Ferguson's "Away for the Day" proposal would prohibit smartphones and smartwatches from the first bell to the last in every Washington K-12 public school. The governor plans to prefile the bill Dec. 7, the first day of legislative prefiling, with school districts expected to implement the policy by September 2027, according to a governor's office announcement.

The proposal would directly change how both Olympia and Tumwater school districts handle student devices.

What it means locally

Olympia School District's cellphone policy, adopted in 2011, allows students to use devices before and after school and during lunch. A statewide bell-to-bell ban would eliminate that lunchtime access.

OSD spokesman Conor Schober told The Olympian in July that the district had no plans to change its policy. A statewide mandate, however, would override that position.

The district is already tightening device access in other ways. An OSD newsletter published in September said the district is piloting a no-take-home-device approach for sixth graders this school year.

Technology will be brought into classrooms on carts and used only when it supports learning, according to the newsletter. A Technology Advisory Committee with representatives from each school will develop grade-level guidance throughout the year, with a final recommendation expected in the spring.

Tumwater School District is closer to alignment with Ferguson's proposal. The district introduced an away-all-day expectation in 2024. Its board held a first reading on a formal device policy, Policy 3245, at its Aug. 27 meeting, according to The Jolt News. That policy limits device use during school hours except in emergencies or authorized cases.

Tumwater Assistant Superintendent Meagan Dawson, presenting Policy 3245 at the Aug. 27 board meeting, said the policy gives the district authority to confiscate devices. "When supported by reasonable suspicion, we can search devices for violations of school rules or law," Dawson said at the meeting.

Statewide push

Ferguson announced the cellphone ban as a top legislative priority on June 9. In June, he said the proposal would include narrow exceptions for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 plans and medical needs, along with emergency communications plans.

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal is also pushing a separate bill for the 2027 legislative session that would require all districts to enforce away-for-the-day policies, as first reported by The Olympian.

An Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) spring 2026 survey of 260 Washington school districts found that 31% still lack a cellphone policy. Teachers who had implemented phone restrictions self-reported a 57% decrease in instructional disruptions and a 50% increase in student engagement.

In Thurston County, only North Thurston Public Schools, Rochester and Tumwater school districts have adopted a districtwide cellphone policy, according to the OSPI survey.

Olympia School District's 2011 policy, which permits lunchtime device use, does not meet the proposed bell-to-bell standard.