AN ACT to develop policies to restrict student use of cell phones in PUBLIC schools.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:

Part 7. Classroom Policies.

§ 115C‑77.1.  Cell phone‑free education policy.

(a)        Governing bodies of public school units shall adopt a cell phone‑free education policy to eliminate or severely restrict student access to cell phones during instructional time.

(b)        At the beginning of each school year, governing bodies of public school units shall notify parents of all students enrolled in the public school unit of the Cell Phone‑Free Education Policy adopted under subsection (a) of this section.

(c)        The requirements of this section shall not apply to the following:

(1)        Remote charter academies as defined in G.S. 115C‑218.120.

(2)        Remote academies as defined in G.S. 115C‑234.

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑77.1 as enacted by this act shall not apply to virtual charter schools participating in the pilot program as authorized by Section 8.35 of S.L. 2014‑100, as amended by Section 8.13 of S.L. 2016‑94, Section 7.13 of S.L. 2018‑5, Section 7.13 of S.L. 2022‑74, and Section 7.26 of S.L. 2023‑134.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2025‑2026 school year.