United States S 5620: UNPLUGGED Schools Grant Act of 2026

Summary

This bill establishes a federal grant program called UNPLUGGED Schools Grants that provides funding to states that adopt policies prohibiting students from possessing or using personal electronic devices like phones and tablets during school hours. The grants can be used by states and school districts to develop enforcement procedures and purchase secure storage solutions like lockboxes to store student devices, with exceptions allowed for students with medical needs or disabilities documented in their education plans. The program affects public elementary and secondary schools nationwide, along with state and local education agencies that choose to participate.

Bill Text

II
119TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION S. 5620
To amend title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
to establish the UNPLUGGED Schools Grant Program, and for other
purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 30, 2026
Mr. KELLY (for himself and Mr. COTTON) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 to establish the UNPLUGGED
Schools Grant Program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Utilize No Phones in 4
Learning to Unleash Growth in Grades and Educate Dis-5
traction-free Schools Grant Act of 2026’’ or the 6
‘‘UNPLUGGED Schools Grant Act of 2026’’. 7
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SEC. 2. UNPLUGGED SCHOOLS GRANTS. 1
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Elementary and 2
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 3
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4
‘‘PART G—UNPLUGGED SCHOOLS GRANTS 5
‘‘SEC. 4701. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 6
‘‘The Secretary shall establish a grant program to be 7
known as the ‘Utilize No Phones in Learning to Unleash 8
Growth in Grades and Educate Distraction-free Schools 9
Grant Program’ or the ‘UNPLUGGED Schools Grant 10
Program’ to award grants to State educational agencies 11
to support public elementary schools and public secondary 12
schools with implementing a personal electronic device pol-13
icy described in section 4702(a). 14
‘‘SEC. 4702. ELIGIBILITY. 15
‘‘(a) PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY RE-16
QUIRED.—To be eligible to receive a grant under this part, 17
a State educational agency shall be required to have in 18
effect a policy, designed in coordination with each local 19
educational agency served by the State educational agency 20
and in consultation with educators, parents, and students, 21
that applies to each public elementary school and public 22
secondary school served by each such local educational 23
agency that prohibits student possession or use of personal 24
electronic devices in schools during school hours. Such pol-25
icy— 26
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‘‘(1) shall permit exceptions— 1
‘‘(A) for students with health conditions 2
that require the use of a mobile phone or other 3
personal electronic device as part of a treatment 4
or monitoring plan, as certified by a licensed 5
healthcare provider; and 6
‘‘(B) for students with disabilities or spe-7
cial needs for whom access to a mobile phone 8
or other personal electronic device is— 9
‘‘(i) documented as necessary in an 10
individualized education program; or 11
‘‘(ii) included as part of services or 12
accommodations provided to the student 13
pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilita-14
tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) (com-15
monly referred to as a ‘Section 504 plan’); 16
and 17
‘‘(2) may permit exceptions— 18
‘‘(A) on an individualized basis, for stu-19
dents— 20
‘‘(i) who are English learners; 21
‘‘(ii) who have a demonstrated need 22
for a personal electronic device to facilitate 23
instruction; and 24
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‘‘(iii) who acquire documentation in 1
support of clauses (i) and (ii) in accord-2
ance with procedures established by the 3
State educational agency; and 4
‘‘(B) for additional students as determined 5
appropriate by State educational agencies. 6
‘‘(b) PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY DE-7
VELOPMENT.—The Secretary, in coordination with the 8
Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall make 9
available, upon request from a State educational agency, 10
subject matter experts to provide technical assistance in 11
the development of a personal electronic device policy de-12
scribed in subsection (a). 13
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this part 14
shall be construed as preempting or otherwise preventing 15
a State, State educational agency, local educational agen-16
cy, or school from enacting or enforcing policies or proce-17
dures regarding student possession or use of personal elec-18
tronic devices during school hours, on school grounds, or 19
during school activities that is more restrictive than a per-20
sonal electronic device policy described in subsection (a). 21
‘‘SEC. 4703. APPLICATION. 22
‘‘To be eligible to receive a grant under this part, a 23
State educational agency shall submit to the Secretary an 24
application at such time, in such manner, and containing 25
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