by Check your backpacks. Check your notebooks. Cell phones should be turned off and stored.
On Monday, over 95,000 San Diego Unified students will return to a very different classroom environment when the district introduces its new mobile phone policies at 175 schools along with the 2025–2026 school year.
In an effort to lessen distractions and improve students’ academic performance and mental health, the district will start implementing phone-free school day policies.
Students from transitional kindergarten through the twelfth grade must switch off their phones during class and keep them out of sight during regular school hours, according to the policy, which was created in compliance with California’s Phone-Free School Act.
This action is taken while San Diego Unified has a lot of academic momentum going into the new school year. In the 2024–25 academic year, the district graduated 6,009 students, maintaining a 90.9% graduation rate.
According to officials, recent statewide testing results demonstrate steady improvement, with math competence growing from 43.2% to 43.9% and English language arts proficiency climbing from 53.8% to 54.2%.
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With 35 community schools now in operation, including 10 new sites for the 2025–2026 academic year, the district is continuing to grow its community school model. With 12 health facilities spread throughout the district and over 90,000 meals given every day, student wellbeing is still a top emphasis.
According to the district, athletic participation has increased by 13% from pre-pandemic levels, rising from 12,001 pupils in 2018–19 to 13,565 in 2025–26. This increase reflects students’ revived interest in extracurricular activities.
