Virginia Issues Guidance on ‘Cellphone-Free’ K-12 Schools

In this photo illustration, social media apps are seen on a phone in New York City on March 14, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Public schools across Virginia are a step closer to becoming cellphone-free after the state’s education department released new guidance for them to follow.

The draft guidance, published Aug. 15, mandates that cellphones be turned off and stashed away from the first school bell until the bell rings for dismissal, including lunchtime and breaks between class periods.

The restrictions apply to all electronic devices capable of making calls, transmitting pictures or video, or sending or receiving messages. This includes non-smartphones that are limited to the most basic functions.

The guidance differs by grade level, with phone use completely banned throughout the school day in elementary schools. At the middle school level, school districts are given the flexibility to decide on appropriate use within the school building and on school grounds before or after the school day. High schoolers may be allowed to use their devices on campus outside of “bell-to-bell” school hours.

“Parents should use school-based communication tools and channels to communicate emergencies during bell-to-bell instructional time,” it reads.

Exemptions will be permitted for students with disabilities. English-learning students may also be exempted, but only if they have a “documented language barrier.”

The Virginia Department of Education said over 600 parents, teachers, school administrators, and members of the general public have attended hearings to offer suggestions on the guidelines.

The department also received nearly 1,500 online comments since July, when Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order mandating the introduction of “cell phone-free education,” with 77 percent “strongly in favor” of the idea, according to the draft guidance.

“The extensive input we received from Virginians was clear and direct,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons said in a statement. “They asked for cell phones and personal electronic communication devices to be removed from our children’s public schools during the school day at every level,” she continued.

“By refocusing our students’ attention back into learning and away from their phones and social media, all our children will have a better opportunity to learn and succeed academically,” she added.

The education department encourages everyone in the state to submit feedback on the draft guidance by Sept. 15. The final guidance will be released on Sept. 16, and school districts will have until the end of the year to implement the guidance.

Virginia is among a growing number of states that have already had or are in the process of trying to restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools.

Earlier this week, South Carolina’s education board gave its initial approval of a model policy, which requires students to store phones away in a locker or backpack for the entire school day, even in between classes. To not lose state funding, individual school districts must either adopt the state’s model policy as is or implement cellphone rules that are more, not less, restrictive.

Governors from both Republican and Democratic parties have called for bans. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul has been touring across her state in recent weeks to hear from teachers and parents about a potential statewide ban on smartphones in schools.

“It seems to me that the district-by-district approach does not work,” Hochul said at a July 15 press conference after the discussion at a high school. “I don’t mind being the heavy, because we’re all fighting for our kids. So I don’t anticipate a piecemeal approach will be my approach.”

In California, meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent a letter to every school district in the state, urging them to enact cellphone restrictions ahead of the upcoming school year.

“Every classroom should be a place of focus, learning, and growth,” Newsom wrote in the Aug. 13 letter. “Working together, educators, administrators, and parents can create an environment where students are fully engaged in their education, free from the distractions on the phones and pressures of social media.”