Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order requiring public school districts to adopt policies banning cell phones in class by January 2025.
According to Youngkin, removing cell phones from classrooms would eliminate distractions and would “protect the health and safety of our students by limiting the amount of time they are exposed to addictive cell phones and social media.”
In response, a spokesperson for Fairfax County Public Schools issued the following statement: “FCPS is currently reviewing the governor’s Executive Order (EO-33) regarding cell phone and smartphone usage by students in schools.”
FCPS first implemented cell phone guidance in the 2022-23 Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook.
Phones are currently banned in classrooms for students in all grade levels, although high school students can use their phones between classes and during bathroom breaks.
The school system plans to continue to explore “additional ways to address concerns regarding inappropriate cell phone use in schools,” FCPS states.
In May, the School Board adopted a motion by at-large member Kyle McDaniel calling for a pilot program on the secure storage of phones in classroom phone lockers or magnetic pouches.
Youngkin’s executive order directs the Virginia Department of Education to “initiate a robust public engagement effort with parents, students, teachers, local school leaders, and other stakeholders to develop collaboratively policies and procedures that establish the age-appropriate restriction or elimination of cell phone use during instructional time, as well as to establish protocols allowing parents to contact their children in emergency and other important situations.”
The state government would allocate $500,000 from existing funds to implement the cell phone ban.
“Implementing cell phone-free education in Virginia’s K-12 public schools is critical, especially given youth chronic health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, that are driven in part by extensive social media and cell phone use,” Youngkin stated in a press release. Children spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media, which “doubles the risk of poor mental health for adolescents.”
The executive order directs the Department of Education to publish draft guidelines by Aug. 15 and final guidance in September.
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