Mexico school cell phone restrictions, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Tuesday, November 3, marked the first day of cell phone restrictions in Mexican schools, a measure aimed at structurally changing activities in classrooms and during recess. The rules apply to public and private basic education institutions, while high schools and universities will have differentiated rules.
Agreement 09/09/26, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), sets conditions to reduce digital distractions, support learning and promote coexistence among students. In initial education, preschool, primary and secondary school, cell phones, smart watches and other personal electronic devices may not be used freely during the school day, including breaks.
The basic education framework proposes that students leave their devices at home or keep them stored. However, there are exceptions for previously scheduled educational activities supervised by teachers, personal emergencies, and needs related to health, disability, accessibility and inclusion.
For situations requiring contact with family members, the decree states that teachers will be responsible for communicating with the family.
In upper secondary education, institutions must reach agreements with their school communities through assemblies. Options include storage spaces, schedules and authorized zones, full days without devices, or specific days for using them as learning tools.
Universities will retain their academic and administrative autonomy, with recommendations to promote responsible digital citizenship.
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a visit to a Mexico City school to lead the initiative “Apaga el celular, enciende tu imaginación” (Turn off the cell phone, turn on your imagination), aimed at promoting activities away from screens. “By consensus, it was decided that cell phones should not be used in primary and secondary schools.
Reading sessions are being held and, at the same time, Mexican books are being promoted,” she said during her morning press conference. The president said the meeting with students was private, without journalists present.
A national consultation conducted in August 2026 gathered 565,396 education figures. Among its results, 81.2% supported establishing national measures on digital devices in schools.
Concerns related to coexistence were also identified: 38.7% of participants reported conflicts started in digital spaces that continued on school grounds, while 29% pointed to situations of cyberbullying.
The agreement favors a formative and preventive approach over an exclusively punitive one. Its basic education framework proposes applying the new practices without scolding or punishment.
Despite teacher support, the Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (Redim) questioned the fact that children and adolescents were not consulted directly. “Decisions about the digital environment should not be reduced to limiting access to the internet, social networks or cell phone use in schools.
The challenge is to build safe digital spaces that guarantee the rights of children and adolescents, while preventing the different forms of violence they face online,” the organization said.
States will have 180 calendar days to adapt their education rules to the new national provisions. During that period, state authorities must issue new rules or modify existing ones to align them with the SEP agreement.
