Following an executive order from Governor Glenn Youngkin last month, the Virginia State Department of Education has unveiled its draft cellphone-free policy.

State education officials said they have spent the last month gathering feedback from hundreds of parents, teachers, students and community members on how best to implement cellphone-free instruction.

Based on this feedback, the department is considering a “bell-to-bell” policy. Students would be required to turn off and put away their phones when they arrive at school and would not be allowed to use them until the end of the school day, including lunch and between classes.

The guidelines include some specific restrictions for public elementary and secondary schools. These include, for example, that elementary students are not allowed to use cell phones anywhere on school grounds unless a parent deems it necessary.

There are also medical exceptions and individual school divisions are encouraged to inform parents of emergency communication plans.

The department will release its final guidelines next month. School districts will then have until Jan. 1 to implement the policy.

Here is the full announcement from the vacant Ministry of Education:

RICHMOND – On July 9, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 to enable cellphone-free instruction in Virginia schools. It directed the Virginia Department of Education and Secretary of Education, as well as the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the State Health Officer, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to help parents, teachers and students better understand the impact of cellphones and social media on children.

A central component of Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order tasks the VDOE with defining what cellphone-free education means in the state. After listening to and reviewing thousands of comments and suggestions from Virginia citizens, the VDOE has developed a draft policy for school divisions on policies and procedures to implement cellphone-free education and remove cellphones and personal electronic communication devices from Virginia public school classrooms. This draft policy has been posted on the VDOE website and will be available for review and comment until September 15, 2024.

“This draft policy is the result of Virginians coming together and demanding ‘enough,'” said Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera. “Parents and teachers in Virginia have witnessed firsthand the damage that cell phones in schools have done to the academic, mental and physical health and social development of our youth. Communities are committed to implementing common sense approaches to restore vibrant and healthy learning environments for all of our children across the state. The Youngkin administration is ready to support public schools, families and communities as we change the culture around cell phones.”

“This draft policy clears the cloud of distraction over classrooms and creates an environment where Virginia’s students can meaningfully connect with their schoolwork, friends and teachers,” said Health and Human Resources Secretary Janet Kelly. “I expect these policies will have positive impacts far beyond the classroom.”

The draft policy defines cellphone-free instruction in Virginia schools as “bell to bell.” This means that phones should be turned off and put away from the first ring at the beginning of the school day, which is when class begins, until the bell rings at the end of the school day. “Bell-to-Bell” includes lunch and the time between classes.

To better understand Virginians’ expectations for a cellphone-free school education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons hosted nine Commonwealth Conversations across the state. Over 600 parents, teachers, principals, school leaders, community members and students participated in the conversations, and nearly another 1,500 commented on the conversations on the VDOE website. Dr. Coons and other state leaders in education and mental health also participated in 11 additional stakeholder conversations, engaging over 500 community and faith leaders, parent organizations, school boards, principals, superintendents and school nurse associations to better understand their concerns regarding cell phones and personal electronic communication devices.

“The extensive feedback we received from Virginians was clear and direct,” said Lisa Coons, Superintendent of Public Education, “requiring that cell phones and personal electronic communication devices be removed from our children’s public schools at all levels – elementary, middle and high school – during the school day. By refocusing our students’ attention on learning and away from their phones and social media, all of our children will have better opportunities to learn and succeed academically.”

As required by Executive Order 33, the draft policy also includes age-appropriate restrictions on cell phones in Virginia public elementary and secondary schools.

• If a parent decides that an elementary student must bring a cell phone or personal electronic communications device to school, it must be put away, turned off, and away from the student during the school day. It may not be used in the school building or on school grounds before or after school.
• In middle school, students should not have a readily accessible cell phone or personal electronic communications device during the school day. School divisions should establish local policies governing the use of cell phones and personal electronic communications devices inside the school building or on school property outside of the school day, including before and after school.
• In high school, students should not have a cell phone or personal electronic communication device readily accessible during the school day. Outside of class time, cell phones and personal electronic communication devices may be used on the high school campus before or after school.

When considering cellphone-free instruction, parents expressed concerns about students with documented medical conditions using their cellphones to monitor their medical needs. The draft policy, which incorporates input from school nurses, pediatricians and health officials, recognizes that students with medical needs may have a medical exemption from the in-school instruction policy contained in their Individual Education Plan, 504 Plan and/or individual health plans.

Parents across the state also made it very clear that they wanted to be informed of their child’s well-being in the event of an emergency. The draft policy recognizes the importance of emergency communication with parents and requires that all school divisions include plans for direct communication with parents as well as reunification plans with children and parents in their already required crisis and emergency plans. The draft policy also encourages school divisions to discuss these emergency communication and reunification plans so that parents and students know how to proactively handle such situations if they occur.

Parents also asked for the ability to communicate with their children during the school day in the event of a family emergency. While many public schools already have such procedures in place, the draft policy calls for school divisions to develop and share family-based school emergency plans with parents and students and post them on their website.

Virginians can expect the following next steps:

• After considering feedback from Virginians on the draft guidelines, the VDOE will issue final guidelines on September 16, 2024.

• School divisions will adopt policies and procedures by January 1, 2025. School divisions are encouraged to review their current policies and adopt age-appropriate policies and procedures before that date that are consistent with the final guidelines or are more comprehensive policies than the final guidelines.