Tuesday is the first day of school for hundreds of students at Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.

One of the main changes for districts across the Rio Grande Valley is the new cellphone policy passed by the state legislature.

The policy calls for schools to limit or even ban students from using their phone's at school.

From new security training to updated cellphone rules, Harlingen CISD is working to create a safer, more focused learning experience for students.

Harlingen CISD currently doesn't have a school police department. They have security officers and school resource officers helping patrol their 31 schools.

The district launched the Guardian Program in March 2024. It's a collaboration between several Cameron County law enforcement agencies that provide off-duty armed law enforcement officers.

Members of the Guardian Program underwent specialized training this summer. Armed members have an average of 12 years of law enforcement experience working at district campuses.

"They've enhanced and expanded their training to make sure that we are completely ready for the year. I'll also say, though, the power of partnerships is big whenever we think about safety," Harlingen CISD Superintendent Veronica Karton said. "Our approach in our district is to make sure that we're going to partner with every agency that we can to strengthen safety in our schools. That is a huge priority for us, and as our kids come back, we want to make sure that they have a safe environment to learn in."

The district says communication between staff, parents and police will be key to making the school year safe and successful.

This year, students are also required to shut their phones off and keep them in their backpacks until the end of the day.

If you need to get in contact with your child, you must call the school's front office.

Watch the video above for the full story.