Texas lawmakers passed a law in 2025 barring students from using cellphones during the school day. NEISD interpreted the law differently from every other district in the county — and possibly the state — allowing students to access their phones at school when outside the classroom. The district argued that the bill language doesn't explicitly require a bell-to-bell ban on device use, leaving the definition of a school day up to local districts.
TEA disagreed, calling on NEISD to ban student cellphone use throughout the entire school day. The state agency gave NEISD until Jan. 31 to change its policy or face potential sanctions.
The issue has developed into a standoff over parents' rights, with NEISD's rationale for their policy centered on feedback from district families who want their students to have access to phones.
At a board meeting Monday night, the board weighed updating their policy but ultimately punted on a decision until a future January meeting. Trustees asked the district's lawyer to reach out to TEA for guidance on whether a policy change for the next school year would satisfy concerns. They also asked for more guidance on what in their policy is in violation of state law.
Even without a decision Monday, some trustees seemed eager to fight the state.
"If they can push us on this, they can push us on anything," Trustee Diane Sciba Villarreal said. "If we give even an inch on this they are going to start trying to control everything... effectively rendering us completely neutered."
If the board opts to fight the state and keep their policy in place, TEA could increase its oversight of NEISD. TEA sanctions include the possible appointment of a conservator, who can override the decisions of the school board and superintendent, or the replacement of the elected board of trustees with an appointed board of managers.
Attorney Ricardo Lopez, who represents the district, described another option: fighting the state in court. Suing TEA over the cellphone policy would involve time and money when the district has limited resources, he said.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers could also pass a "clean up" bill in the 2027 legislative session to remove some confusion around the law, Lopez said. New bill language could render the district's fight with TEA moot.
"It's not a good situation, one way or the other," Lopez said.
Citing the difficulty of changing a policy mid-school year, board members asked Lopez what the timeline for a legal battle might look like. He estimated that if the district decided to take TEA to court, the legal process would begin playing out before the end of the academic year.
Monday's meeting marks the first time the districts' board has discussed the issue since the TEA placed NEISD under a corrective action plan on Nov. 6 for the way the district chose to enact its cellphone ban.
TEA's investigation found that the NEISD policy was not in compliance with state law but offered few details or findings indicating that the district was breaking the law — something trustees took issue with Monday night.
"TEA will review the details of the board's action as part of its current review of the district's compliance with state law," Jake Kobersky, spokesperson for the agency, wrote in a statement Monday. "Because this matter remains ongoing, the agency cannot comment further."
While hinting at solidarity with fellow trustees, Board President David Beyer spoke about his fear that defiance of the law could trigger TEA intervention. He emphasized the board needed to stay focused on the fundamental issues the district and its families face.
"We don't have a good option in either of these situations, because (if) we maintain our policy, and then we run the risk of spending time and resources that we're already tight on, or worse, we have somebody sitting here on the board and making decisions for us," Beyer said. "We cannot let these things become a distraction. We've got to make sure our schools are passing. We have to make sure our kids are graduating. We have to make sure that our budgets are tight."
© 2026 the San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
