Overview
- Law No. 15.534 took effect with the 2026 school year, requiring primary students to keep devices stored and turned off throughout the school day, including recess, except when a teacher approves use for a specific lesson.
- The measure applies across public and private primary schools in the province and, according to reports, affects more than two million students in over 11,000 establishments.
- Implementation is school-based under an authority designated by the Executive, and monitoring will assess attention in class, academic performance, school climate and incidents such as bullying linked to device use.
- In General Pueyrredon, a Unión por la Patria proposal would prohibit phones during the entire day in municipal secondary schools, while AIEPA reports that about 70% of private secondary schools in Mar del Plata already bar phones in classrooms.
- Similar restrictions and protocols are spreading nationally, with strict school-level regimes in Santa Fe and a wave of private schools in Mendoza using lockers or locked boxes and narrow exceptions, alongside existing provincial rules in Neuquén and Salta.