Red Oak ISD to use Yondr pouches and Open Gate screening to comply with new Texas cell‑phone law

Red Oak Independent School District trustees approved the purchase and districtwide implementation plan for phone‑locking pouches and weapons‑detection screening as part of the consent agenda, voting 7‑0 to adopt the package that responds to House Bill 1481.

The measures, explained at the board meeting by district staff, require students to turn off or place personal electronic devices — including cell phones and smartwatches — in district‑approved pouches before entering secondary school buildings and keep them stored throughout the school day. "The devices will be locked before enter entering the building, and then unlocked at the end of the school day," staff member Rusty Anderson said during the presentation.

The district said the changes are intended to ensure compliance with the law and to reduce classroom and campus disruptions. "Most parents, educators are ecstatic," district communications staff member Miss Trimble said when asked about outreach to families. Trimble said the district has already begun sending notices, will continue social‑media outreach and the weekly parent newsletter, and will add specific pouch rollout details after the pouches are formally approved.

How the system will work and why the district chose pouches District staff described Yondr — the pouch system the district selected — as a commercially available solution that locks with a magnet at building entry and can…