RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – On Thursday afternoon, the Virginia State Department of Education released its draft guidance on the policies and procedures school districts should implement to keep cell phones out of the classroom.
The bill comes after Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order in early July requiring Virginia public schools to implement cellphone-free instruction, citing the mental health issues associated with children’s addiction to social media and cellphones.
Through community conversations and online feedback, thousands of people shared their opinions on what such a policy should look like.
“If you’re asking what we should do about middle school or high school, ban cell phones altogether,” a spokesman said at a meeting in Midlothian last week.
In the draft guidelines published by the VDOE, those responsible define cell phone-free lessons as a “bell-to-bell” rule, which means that cell phones should be turned off and put away from the first ring at the start of the school day until the end of the lesson. This also applies to lunch and the time between lessons.
In addition to the “Bell-to-Bell” rule, the VDOE proposes different approaches for elementary school, middle school and high school students.
In elementary school, if a parent decides that their child must bring a cell phone to school, it must be put away and kept away from the child during the school day and must not be used on school property before or after school.
In middle school, the VDOE said a student should not have a cell phone readily accessible during the school day. In addition, the VDOE encourages school divisions to develop local policies to regulate cell phone use in the school building outside of the “school day,” including before or after school.
High school students must follow similar policies as middle school students, but they are allowed to use their cell phones on school grounds before or after school.
Students who rely on their cell phone to monitor medical needs may be exempt from this policy.
Virginians still have an opportunity to comment on the draft. The feedback will be used to determine the final guidelines, which will be released on September 16.
School districts then have until January 1, 2025, to implement these policies and procedures.
Click here for further details on the draft guidelines.
All rights reserved.
