OR school districts await details on K-12 cell phone ban
By Terry Murry on Monday, August 4th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News Featured Stories More Top Stories
SALEM – Gov. Tina Kotek was disturbed by the Oregon Legislature’s failure to adopt a statewide cell phone ban in public schools so she issued an executive order for the ban. Some districts already have cell phone policies in place, but all are awaiting legal guidance on what the governor’s ban will involve.
InterMountain Education Service District Superintendent Mark Mulvihill said that with a deadline of Oct. 31, school boards are under the gun to either adapt or institute policies and they don’t yet know what the order will entail for their specific circumstances.
“How is Pilot Rock High School going to handle lunch,” he wondered. “How’s Echo going to handle cell phones while the kids are traveling to games? How’s Pendleton going to handle the cubbies or phones when kids are walking through?”
Oregon’s governor is also its superintendent of public instruction, which gives Kotek the power to issue orders related to K-12 education. The Oregon School Boards Association says it’s working on legal guidance for districts in establishing cell phone policies. Kotek’s order states not only that the policies need to be in place by Oct. 31. They must be put into action no later than Jan. 1, 2026.
