For the school year 2024–25, a cell phone pilot program will launch at select Fairfax County Public Schools middle and high schools. The pilot tightens previous school board policy.
Middle school students will lock their cell phones in their personal magnetically sealed pouch and put them in their backpacks to be unlocked at the end of the day, while high school students will place their cell phones into a cell phone storage unit at the beginning of each class.
Superintendent Michelle Reid said that it would provide the division with "invaluable data to inform future rules around cell phone usage in our schools."
Meanwhile, Virginia’s governor issued an executive order to create “cell phone free education” to go into effect January 2025. And members of the Virginia Senate have introduced Senate Bill No. 738 as a more collaborative approach.
“Virginia’s Constitution does not give the Governor control over Virginia schools and his Executive Order is as effective as sending a letter to each school system,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
On Sept. 17, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released its Final Guidance for cell phone-free education in Virginia’s K-12 public schools. Youngkin directed the VDOE to solicit public opinion regarding cell phones in schools. VDOE created definitions of "cell phone-free education" and published model implementation plans to inform public school systems' cell phone policies.
The next day, on Sept. 18, three members of the Virginia State Senate Democratic Workgroup on School Mobile Phone Policy prefiled Senate Bill 738: Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; student cell phone possession and use for the 2025 legislative session convening on Jan. 8, 2025. Sen. Stella G. Pekarsky (D-36) of Fairfax is the chief patron of Senate Bill No. 738.
“As the former School Board Chair of the largest school division in the Commonwealth, I understand it is imperative that we strike the right balance through legislative action,” said Pekarsky. “Giving school boards, localities, and communities the tools to implement these policies to ensure their needs are met is the common sense way to accomplish distraction-free education for all.”
SB 738 seeks to establish clear, age-appropriate policies for cell phone use in schools, emphasizing the need for collaboration among various educational authorities through local school board control.
“If Governor Youngkin wants to make truly binding and effective education policy, it requires the collaboration and involvement of the General Assembly, the Virginia Board of Education, and each local school board, which is constitutionally vested with the power to run their local systems,” Surovell said.
SB 738 directs each school board, not the VDOE, to develop and each public elementary and secondary school to implement age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate policies relating to the possession and use of cell phones by students on school property during regular school hours.
The bill restricts student cell phone use during regular school hours; aims to prevent distractions and disruptions to the learning environment; ensures administration implementation and enforcement of the policy, minimizing conflicts with teachers' instructional responsibilities; allows exceptions for students under an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Section 504 Plan; prohibits suspension, expulsion, or removal from class due to policy violations; and violations involving disruptive behavior must be addressed following school board regulations.