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Students swap screens for stories. Dallas ISD book checkouts soar amid state's first cellphone ban for public schools

By
Lacey Beasley
Lacey Beasley
Lacey Beasley is an award-winning journalist with CBS News Texas. You can find her on-air every weekday morning.
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Lacey Beasley

/ CBS Texas

Public school districts in Texas are almost one school year into the first statewide cellphone ban, and a North Texas school district is seeing positive impacts.

Dallas ISD officials said that, district-wide, they have seen a significant increase in library book checkouts, which they largely attribute to students no longer having cellphones with them during the school day.

"I started hearing, 'Oh, I'm so bored. I can't get on my phone after I do my work or during lunchtime,'" Hillcrest High School librarian Nina Canales said. "Once they lock into these stories, they don't seem to care about their phones at all." 

From the first day of school to March 31, 2026, the district reported an increase of more than 200,000 additional books checked out compared to the previous year.

A look at the library checkouts for the previous year:

  • 2025-2026 Total Circulation (1st day of school to March 31, 2026) – 1,084,837
  • 2024-2025 Total circulation (1st day of school to March 31, 2025) – 872,430

Total library book checkout increase: 24.35%

At Dallas ISD's Hillcrest High, students are following this trend.

Canales said there were roughly 500 books checked out in the first nine weeks of the 2024-2025 school year. This school year, that number spiked to about 1,800 books.

"That floored me," Canales said. "I had to re-do the report again because I was like, 'What, are you kidding me?'"

Students felt the impact too.

"Now that I'm busy with a bunch of work and college, I don't find myself missing my phone that much, even at home," said Yamilet Jimenez, 9th grader. 

What is the cell phone ban?

Passed by the in 2025, bans public school students from using any personal communication devices, like cellphones, tablets or smart watches.

Lawmakers passed this bill with the goal of keeping students focused during the school day. 

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