Douglas County schools to enforce new cellphone rules this fall
Douglas County students will still use phones at lunch and between classes, but Highlands Ranch High and every district school must keep them out of sight during class.
Highlands Ranch High School students will have to keep cellphones out of sight during class this fall as Douglas County School District begins enforcing a new districtwide device policy. The rules still allow phones during passing periods and lunch, giving Douglas County a less restrictive approach than districts that have adopted bell-to-bell bans.
The change comes as Colorado schools prepare to comply with House Bill 25-1135, which requires every district and charter school to adopt, implement and post a communication-device policy by July 1. The Colorado Department of Education says those policies must spell out when students can possess or use devices and must include exceptions for disability accommodations, medical needs and emergencies.
Douglas County’s board approved its final policy on April 21, 2026, after modifying earlier drafts. District leaders had already tested the issue with a community forum in November 2025, when students, parents and faculty weighed in on how the rules should work before the board signed off.
The district serves about 61,000 students and is Colorado’s third-largest, which makes the rollout at Highlands Ranch High School a test case for how a large suburban system handles enforcement day to day. Colorado school districts have taken different paths: some have gone to bell-to-bell bans, while others, including Douglas County, are keeping access during lunch and passing periods.
State education leaders have framed the policy shift as a response to a familiar classroom problem. A presentation to the Colorado State Board of Education in May linked consistently enforced cellphone rules to higher educator satisfaction and fewer classroom distractions, the kind of tradeoff Douglas County is now trying to strike. The district has said it is committed to sharing information and resources so families know what the rules mean and how they will be carried out across campuses.
By midsemester, teachers and families will be watching for the same expectations at Highlands Ranch High School and across Douglas County, along with fewer interruptions once class starts. The real test will be whether students adapt to the tighter routine and whether the rules are enforced the same way from one campus to the next.
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