VDOE says Virginia schools should ban cell phones ‘bell-to-bell’

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has published its draft guidance for cell phone policies in Virginia schools, saying it believes students should be kept from using their phones from “bell-to-bell.”

“This draft guidance is the result of Virginians coming together and saying, ‘Enough,'” said Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera in a press release. “Virginia parents and teachers have witnessed first-hand the damage cell phones in schools has had on our youth’s academic, mental and physical health and social development.”

How did we get here?

On July 9, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order where he called for the VDOE to either limit or ban phone use in Virginia schools. As a result of that order, the VDOE was tasked with crafting draft guidance dictating what student phone use should look like throughout the state.

The VDOE collected community feedback on what these policies should look like, including holding an Aug. 5 state w ide virtual meeting and an Aug. 7 in-person meeting in Chesterfield County , among others. According to the release, in total, over 600 people attended such meetings and nearly 1,500 comments were shared with the VDOE online.

What does the draft guidance look like?

This new draft guidance is reportedly a result of all of the comments the VDOE received.

It “defines cell phone-free education in Virginia’s schools as ‘bell-to-bell,’ meaning phones should be turned off and stored away from the first bell at the start of the school day to begin instructional time until the dismissal bell rings at the end of the academic school day,” according to the release.

This will include lunch periods and time in between classes.

“The extensive input we received from Virginians was clear and direct,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons in the release. “They asked for cell phones and personal electronic communication devices to be removed from our children’s public schools during the school day at every level — elementary, middle, and high school. By refocusing our students’ attention back into learning and away from their phones and social media, all our children will have a better opportunity to learn and succeed academically.”

The draft guidance includes specific guidance for each of those three school levels. Those points are summarized in the release as follows:

• “If a parent determines an elementary student needs to bring a cell phone or personal electronic communication device to school, it must be stored, off, and away from the student during the school day. It should not be used in the school building or on the school grounds before or after school.”
• “In middle school, a student should not have an easily available cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day. School divisions should establish local policies that determine cell phone and personal electronic communication device use within the school building or on school grounds outside of bell-to-bell, including before and after school.”
• “In high school, students should not have an easily accessible cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day. Outside of the bell-to-bell instructional time, cell phones and personal electronic communication devices may be used on a high school campus before or after school.”

Those with medical conditions who use their phones to monitor their medical needs are recognized within the draft guidance. These students may require exceptions be made for them within their Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 504 plan, and/or personal health care plans.

According to the release, the community expressed concerns to the VDOE regarding getting in touch with their students during an emergency. The draft guidance reportedly details the VDOE’s thoughts on how to balance that need while still keeping to a “bell-to-bell” cell phone ban.

“The draft guidance recognizes the importance of emergency communications to parents and requires that all school divisions build plans to communicate directly with parents, as well as reunification plans with children and parents, into their already required crisis and contingency plans,” the VDOE said in its release. “The draft guidance also encourages school divisions to discuss those emergency communication and reunification plans so that parents and students know how such situations will be handled proactively if they occur.”

Policy on how to handle communication when a parent may want to contact a child about a family-based emergency will be left to individual school divisions.

What are the next steps?

The VDOE will collect feedback from Virginians and issue its final guidance on Sept. 16.

Following that, school divisions will be expected to adopt policies and procedures by Jan. 1, 2025.

“School divisions are encouraged to review their current policies and adopt age-appropriate policies and procedures aligned with the final guidance ahead of this date or policies that are more comprehensive than the final guidance,” the VDOE said.

All Virginians are encouraged to submit feedback on the draft guidance by Sept. 15.

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