Starting on Jan. 1, what was once just a Valley phone policy officially became a statewide restriction on phone usage with Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order 33.
EO 33 was officially released back in July, followed by the Virginia Department of Education’s official guidance on this order in September.
But as of January 1, all school districts in Virginia must have implemented these phone usage restrictions with their own county-wide policies that mirror Youngkin’s EO and the VDOE’s guidance.
Back in June, however, LCPS had already approved their own policy restricting phone usage, Policy 8655. Policy 8655 will likely have to undergo additional reviews to adhere to and match EO 33 and the VDOE’s guidance.
LCPS’s Policy 8655 was initially created in response to complaints from parents and staff on immense learning distractions, stemming from unregulated phone usage.
“I hoped that by having a policy that restricts use of personal devices during educational hours, we could create a better learning environment with fewer distractions,” Catoctin District Board Member Kari LaBell said.
LaBell has shown support for possible reviews on stricter implementations to match that of the statewide Executive Order and its VDOE guidance.
“We plan to review how the implementation of this policy has gone down the road, and I would support the bell-to-bell guidelines so that students can remain engaged and not be tempted to have screen time at every free moment,” LaBell said.
The VDOE’s guidance was also a reflection of public outcry and suggestions, but from a much larger, statewide, pool of concerned parents and officials.
“Nearly 1,500 submitted online comments in July and August of 2024 with 77% strongly in favor of the cell phone-free instructional time,” Megan Simmons, Executive Assistant at the Office of Board Relations for the VDOE, said.
The VDOE’s guidance, unlike LCPS’s Policy 8655, incorporates the “bell-to-bell” aspect of restricted phone use.
“The draft guidance was available for review and feedback through September 15, 2024,” Simmons said. “The Department received nearly 6,000 public comments and feedback during engagements, including 21 stakeholder convenings and public Commonwealth Conversations with over 1,160 Virginians.”
This bell-to-bell aspect was further reinforced and supported by the guidance’s public feedback.
Despite the opposition from students and staff alike, Youngkin’s EO 33, the VDOE guidance, and LCPS’s Policy 8655, all reinforce the need for these restrictions to ensure authentic and focused learning.
“It is essential that students have the opportunity to develop face-to-face conversations and critical in-person communication skills during unstructured school hours,” Simmons said.
Even with the public opposition, Simmons provided stats showcasing the overarching support for these statewide initiatives.
“Polling was also released…showing that 69% of Virginia parents of school-aged children support cell phone-free education, including during lunch and class breaks. This aligns with the overall broad, bi-partisan feedback the Department received during the months of July through September,” Simmons said.
After a month of statewide phone restrictions during school time, it is unlikely that they will waver, even with the current opposition.
So far, Valley’s implementation of phone restrictions have been in line with Policy 8655, and will likely become stricter as LCPS moves to match the state-level orders.
