San Francisco, March 24, 2026 – More than 30 states have moved to ban student cell phones from schools to protect instructional time, but the change has created a new challenge for families and educators: how to stay connected during the school day. To address this gap, Districts ClassDojo today introduces parent-student messaging, a new streamlined, school-managed communication channel for the 2026 back-to-school that keeps families connected without bringing phones back into classrooms.
Starting in back-to-school 2026, parents will be able to message their child directly from any school-issued device and view teacher-student conversations—no student phone required.
As student phone bans continue, districts are experiencing an unintended consequence: when students lose access to their phones, families lose their instant line of communication. Front offices field more calls from families, forcing staff to track students, relay messages throughout the building, and manage the increased disruption throughout the school day. District leaders are now faced with a new question: how do we keep families connected in a wireless school?
ClassDojo is already used in over 90% of US schools, with millions of families opening the app every day to hear from teachers and stay up-to-date on school life. Parent-student messaging builds on that existing foundation with no new app to download, no new vendor to test, and no acquisition campaign required.
“Wireless classrooms don’t have to mean disconnected families,” said Jeff Buening, General Manager at ClassDojo. “As districts reduce student phone access, many are seeing more pressure on front offices to manage parent communication and messaging throughout the day. Messaging between teachers, students, and parents gives district leaders a clear path forward by keeping communication open within the school’s control corridors. And for districts that already use ClassDojo, there’s no need to add another vendor or ask families to download another app—the trust is already there, and the infrastructure is already there.”
When we launch back-to-school 2026, the expanded messages will:
- Allow families to send their child a message from the ClassDojo app.
- Send messages to students on school-issued devices such as Chromebooks.
- Include teachers in all discussions.
- Keep all messages logged and readable within the ClassDojo regional environment.
“There is no peer discussion or social framework,” Buening said. “This is designed for direct communication between parents and their children, to support free policies without restoring class disruption.”
Interested districts can visit the website or contact their ClassDojo representative to learn more.
About ClassDojo
ClassDojo is on a mission to give every child the education they love. Used in 90% of US schools, ClassDojo helps teachers and families build stronger school communities through daily communication. District ClassDojo is a unified and interactive communication platform that brings daily classroom updates and district-wide messages into one seamless experience—helping families feel connected, students stay engaged, and school culture thrive. It is built with privacy at its core and is available in the regions at no additional cost.
