CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The Virginia Department of Education released its new draft guidelines for cell phone-free instruction Thursday afternoon.

In early July, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33, which aims to restrict cell phone use in Virginia public schools.

Now the department has issued guidelines on how Virginia’s public school districts should restrict cell phone use.

Department officials say the guidance reflects the views of Virginians who submitted comments in the weeks following Governor Youngkin’s release of the order.

The rules vary depending on the grade level. Elementary school students are prohibited from using a mobile phone on school grounds and in the school building.

According to the agency, if a parent decides that an elementary school student should bring a cell phone to school, the cell phone must be kept turned off and out of the student’s reach throughout the day. The agency defines “kept” as “not carried on the student’s person.”

Middle and high school students are allowed to bring a cell phone to school, but are not allowed to use it during class time. The policy defines class time as “bell to bell,” with cell phone use prohibited from the first ring in the morning until the bell rings at the end of the day.

Some school systems in central Virginia have already implemented a “out and away” policy that requires students to turn off and put away their phones.

“Here in Louisa, we’ve had a no-students-in-class policy since about 2008, and the idea is to avoid major distractions, right?” said Doug Straley, superintendent of Louisa County Public Schools. “It allows our teachers to teach and our students to learn without interruptions. And it’s worked really well.”

Amanda Korman, community relations coordinator for Charlottesville City Schools, says cellphone-free learning benefits both students and teachers.

“Cell phones have a lot of benefits, but they can also distract students from learning,” Korman said. “As we also know, they can be detrimental to mental health… We’ve found that the ‘out and away’ rule throughout the day has a really positive impact in classrooms, and I think you’ll hear the same thing when you talk to students.”

This guide is only a draft and people are invited to submit feedback between now and September 15th.

School systems are encouraged to comply with the state’s final guidelines by January 1, 2025.

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