Challenge Success launches free toolkit for student-built cell phone policies

Challenge Success released a free toolkit to help schools create cell phone policies with students, not just for them. The Stanford-affiliated nonprofit says the resources aim to improve well-being, engagement and belonging, with a free webinar set for Oct. 28.

Why it matters: - Schools are facing pressure to set cell phone rules that limit distraction without undermining student trust or school climate. - Challenge Success says the new toolkit is designed to help schools build policies that support student well-being, engagement and belonging. - The resources are free, which lowers the barrier for K-12 schools looking for practical guidance.

What happened: - Challenge Success, a nonprofit affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education, released a free toolkit on Sept. 18, 2026. - The toolkit focuses on helping schools design cell phone policies with students at the center. - The project was funded by a grant from the Young Futures Call Me Maybe Challenge. - Challenge Success will host a free webinar on Oct. 28, 2026, featuring members of the partner school teams. - Registrants who cannot attend live will receive the recording. - The toolkit is available at no cost at school cell phone policy resources.

The details: - The toolkit documents how three schools designed and piloted phone policies alongside students. - The schools featured are Legacy Magnet Academy, La Cañada High School and Sandia Prep. - Each school approached the challenge differently. - The toolkit captures what each school tried, what worked and what each school would change. - The toolkit includes real stories and sample policies from the three schools. - The toolkit also includes a research brief on existing data about cell phone use and phone bans in schools. - Challenge Success included a detailed walkthrough of its School Change Process. - The toolkit offers practical pilot ideas, protocols and equity-centered tools schools can adapt to their own context. - Young Futures highlighted some of the work in its storytelling series.

Between the lines: - The toolkit’s structure suggests there is no one-size-fits-all school phone policy. - Kimberly Tsai, Challenge Success director of programs, said each school followed a path shaped by its own community and needs. - Tsai said the common thread was treating students as true partners in the process. - The emphasis on student voice reflects a broader push to pair phone restrictions with belonging and engagement, not just discipline.

What's next: - Challenge Success will use the Oct. 28 webinar to extend the toolkit’s reach and share lessons directly from the participating schools. - Schools can adapt the toolkit’s pilot ideas and equity tools to their own communities. - The partner schools’ examples may serve as models for other districts testing or revising phone policies.

The bottom line: - Challenge Success is betting that student-centered policy design will produce phone rules schools can actually implement and students are more likely to accept.