Cell Phone-Free Schools Sought In Youngkin Executive Order

VIRGINIA — As some Virginia school districts have adopted stricter policies on student cell phone use during school, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order to move toward cell phone-free schools statewide.

The Rebublican governor's Executive Order 33 means the Virginia Department of Education will draft guidance for school districts to adopt their own policies and procedures on cell phone-free education. The order also calls for policies that allow parents to contact children during emergencies and other urgent scenarios.

"Creating cell phone and social media-free educational environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents, and educators," Youngkin said in a statement. "Today’s executive order both establishes the clear goal to protect the health and safety of our students by limiting the amount of time they are exposed to addictive cell phones and social media and eliminates clear distractions in the classroom."

Sen. Tim Kaine, one of Virginia's two U.S. senators, released a statement in support of the state action on student cell phone use.

“I'm committed to doing all that I can to help students overcome learning loss," Kaine stated. "That's why I introduced a bipartisan bill to look into how cellphone use in schools is impacting students’ learning and mental health. I'm glad to see more action on the state level in Virginia, too."

Under Youngkin's executive order, the Virginia Department of Education would publish draft guidance on cell phone-free education by Aug. 15. Final guidance would be issued in September after public feedback. School districts would have a deadline of Jan. 1, 2025 to adopt local cell phone-free policies.

In issuing the order, Youngkin pointed to mental health conditions like depression and anxiety being fueled in part by social media and cell phone overuse. Recently, the U.S. surgeon general called for social media platforms to put warning labels on social media apps.

An American Psychological Association study released in April 2024 showed 41 percent of teens with high social media use labeled their mental health as poor, compared to 32 percent with low use. Ten percent of the high social media use group said they experienced suicidal thoughts or self-harm in the last year, and 17 percent experienced poor body image. The study reported an average 4.8 hours that teens spend on social media.

Some Northern Virginia school districts have taken action to restrict cell phone use because the devices may distract students during classes.

Loudoun County's school board adopted a new policy that bans phone use during the school day or during classes, depending on the school level.

Fairfax County Public Schools restricts cell phone use for elementary and middle school students and requires high schoolers to silence phones during class. However, the school district is looking into a pilot program to have students turn over phones during class at some schools, FFX Now reported.

In Arlington Public Schools, some parents are pushing for a stricter cell phone ban during the school day, according to WTOP.

Virginia's executive order seeks public comment from parents, students, teachers, school officials and other stakeholders to develop the policies on age-appropriate restrictions during class instruction. The Virginia Department of Education and the Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services will use $500,000 of their existing funds to support the initiative.