Military schools get phone ban—with safeguards for disabilities and emergencies
H.R. 4006 — Mission UNPLUGGED Act · Filed by Eugene Vindman (D-VA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) to establish a policy prohibiting students from using cellular phones and other distracting electronic devices during regular school hours at military-connected schools. The policy must allow school administrators flexibility in enforcement, include emergency contact procedures, and carve out exceptions for medical needs, disabilities, English learners, and emergencies. The bill authorizes $1.2 million to help schools implement the policy (e.g., purchasing lockboxes) and requires annual reporting on implementation and student outcomes for five years.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward education management measure that grants DODEA authority to establish a classroom device-use policy. It is not a tax provision, subsidy, deregulation, or commemorative measure—it is routine public-school governance.
What the text implies
- The bill grants the Director broad discretion to define 'covered electronic devices' beyond phones, potentially expanding to smartwatches, tablets, or other emerging technologies without further legislative approval.
- Annual reporting on 'student performance and mental health' may create pressure to attribute academic or behavioral changes to phone bans, even when causation is unclear or confounded by other factors.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
manufacturers of lockboxes and device-storage equipment; school technology vendors providing implementation support