Massachusetts Awards $625,000 to 17 Districts for Phone-Free Schools

On October 27, 2026, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced more than $625,000 in grants to 17 school districts to support bell-to-bell phone-free learning environments. The state-funded initiative is intended to help districts implement policies that limit students’ phone use throughout the school day. Campbell said, “These grant awards will allow more students to experience those benefits and thrive in a phone-free environment.” The awards are already made, so this announcement is not an open application or procurement opportunity.

Individual awards may be as large as $50,000. Districts can use the funds for phone storage and access-control technology as well as the implementation work needed to put phone-free policies into practice. Eligible purposes described in the announcement include staff training, community outreach, program evaluation, and accessibility support. The combination of equipment and services suggests district-level needs that may be relevant to education technology providers and implementation partners, though the source does not identify any vendors selected to provide them.

The awards span 17 Massachusetts districts, creating multiple local implementation contexts rather than one statewide technology contract. The announcement names Northampton Public Schools, New Bedford Public Schools, Amesbury Public Schools, and Cape Cod Regional Technical High School among the participating entities. For suppliers, these named districts may be useful points of reference when tracking local purchasing activity, but the grant announcement itself does not establish a contract vehicle, specify a procurement schedule, or state that any particular product or company will be used.

For GovCon and education-market participants, the practical signal is funded demand for phone-storage solutions, access controls, and related implementation support at the district level. Companies should distinguish this funding announcement from a solicitation: awards have already been made, and no future application deadline or open competition is provided. Interested vendors can monitor individual districts for subsequent purchasing notices, requests for information, or implementation opportunities, while avoiding assumptions about procurement methods or awardees that are not stated in the source.

• More than $625,000 was awarded to 17 Massachusetts school districts for phone-free learning environments.
• Individual grant awards may be up to $50,000.
• Funding may cover phone storage and access-control technology, staff training, community outreach, program evaluation, and accessibility support.
• The initiative supports bell-to-bell phone-free policies rather than identifying a single statewide technology acquisition.
• Named recipients include Northampton Public Schools, New Bedford Public Schools, Amesbury Public Schools, and Cape Cod Regional Technical High School.
• The announcement identifies Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General as the state-level source.
• Grant awards have already been made; the announcement is not an open solicitation and provides no future application deadline.
• Suppliers may track district-level purchasing activity for storage, access-control, training, outreach, evaluation, and accessibility needs, but no vendor awards or contract vehicle are identified.