Overview
- The regulation took effect Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and imposes a near‑total ban on phones and personal smart devices during the school day for educación básica, covering pre‑school through secondary with limited exceptions.
- Exceptions allow device use for preplanned pedagogy, verified emergencies, health needs, disability accommodations and other specific inclusion reasons.
- Bachillerato and higher‑education institutions are not subject to a single national ban; each plantel must set its own rules for responsible use under the SEP guidance.
- Implementation is decentralized: states have 180 days from November 3 to issue or align local norms, and schools are already adopting custody spaces, parent 'responsivas' and staged adaptation periods while teachers are urged to model responsible use without being required to surrender their phones.
- The rule covers about 34.1 million students in public and private schools and will undergo semestral reviews, raising practical concerns about enforcement, emergency family contact in violence‑affected areas and uneven effects on rural, special‑needs and low‑resource schools.