'It's time to deal with this crisis'| Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wants cellphones out of the classroom

RICHMOND, Va. — Picture a classroom where students are fully engaged, their attention undivided by the constant buzz of cell phones. Well, that's exactly what Governor Glenn Youngkin hopes to make a reality across Virginia schools with a new executive order issued on Tuesday. 

Executive Order 33 mandates that the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) develop recommendations for public school districts to enforce cell phone-free policies. 

The executive order instructs VDOE to involve parents, students, teachers, local school leaders, and stakeholders in creating rules. These rules will decide when students can use phones in class and set up ways for parents to reach their children in emergencies.

Also, the governor said that VDOE and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBDHS) will use $500,000 from current funds to help put this mental health and safety plan into action.

“This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn. Creating cell phone and social media-free educational environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents, and educators,” said Youngkin. “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. It also kicks off the robust conversations among parents, students, teachers, and school and community leaders necessary to design and implement these policies and procedures at the local level.”

Youngkin explained that bringing cell phone-free education to Virginia’s K-12 public schools is crucial, especially with concerns about youth health issues like depression and anxiety, often linked to heavy social media and cell phone use. He says on average children spend about 4.8 hours a day on social media, with recent studies finding that spending more than three hours a day doubles the risk of poor mental health. Additionally, the CDC reports the rate of suicide has increased 167% since 2010 for girls and 91% since 2010 for boys. In the same timeframe, boys and girls experienced a spike in depression of 161% and 145%, respectively. 

“The data is clear, and it is time for Virginians to come together to address the damage of social media and screens to healthy childhoods. Government cannot be the sole solution to this crisis; school communities – especially parents and teachers – must work together to discuss and develop common sense approaches to limit screen time, prioritize open channels of communication, and re-establish norms that reinforce healthy and vibrant learning communities,” said Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera.

The executive order tells VDOE to release their draft guidelines by August 15. VDOE will give final guidelines in September for schools to start cell phone-free policies by January 1, 2025

The Department of Education will hold meetings and other opportunities for the public to give their thoughts on this policy over the next six weeks. They want to hear about what's working well in Virginia Public Schools and get ideas for the rules about cell phones in K-12 schools.

“Cell phones and digital media have caused pre-teens and teens to disconnect from the real world, have increased mental health challenges, and have caused significant disruption in the important daily learning opportunities in their classrooms,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons.  “Parents and teachers understand the importance of creating cell phone-free education in our schools so that students can focus on instruction and learning during the school day. We look forward to facilitating conversations around the danger to our children of cell phones, social media, and the impact of screen time and will focus on creating guidance that protects the health and safety of our students.” 

Some Virginia schools already limit cell phones, but this executive order is the first statewide push to improve learning by reducing or completely limiting phone use during lessons. Studies show that using phones in class leads to lower grades and makes it harder for students to concentrate and learn.

WATCH NEXT:

Do you have a news tip on this story or any other story? We want to hear from you. Tell us about it by emailing newstips@wusa9.com. 

MORE WAYS TO GET WUSA9 

HOW TO ADD THE FREE WUSA9+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE  

ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for WUSA9. 

For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "WUSA9" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon. 

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE WUSA9 NEWSLETTER 

Subscribe to our daily WUSA9 Newsletter for top stories from WUSA9 curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Commanders content, weather, and more delivered right to your inbox.