Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order Tuesday to eliminate cellphone use in public schools across the state.
The order directs the state Education Department to come up with guidance to help public schools adopt local policies establishing “cell phone-free education.”
That entails engaging with parents, students, teachers and other community members to develop age-appropriate restrictions during instructional time, according to the executive order, as well as developing protocols that enable parents to contact their children during emergencies.
The state will funnel $500,000 toward the initiative, according to a news release.
“This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn,” Youngkin said in the release, adding that his directive aims 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.”
Citing a teen mental health crisis — as well as deteriorating academic achievement over the last decade — as being driven in part by extensive social media and cellphone use, the executive order says cellphone-free education will mean kids spend less time on their phones without parental supervision.
New rules could include the use of dedicated cellphone pouches, lockers or other means of restricting access. Similar restrictions could also apply to other digital devices, such as smartwatches, tablets and personal computers.
After the state develops and issues its final guidance by mid-September, the directive orders school divisions to adopt the new policies by Jan. 1.
“Many parents and teachers struggle to balance socializing and social media, play or learning time and screen time, and true human connection and internet connection,” Janet Kelly, the state secretary of health and human resources, said in the news release. “The more we learn, the more we know that too much screen time — especially time spent on addictive apps — is harmful to kids’ physical and mental health.”
Kelly added that Youngkin’s order falls in line with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s recent call to protect young people from the potential mental health harms of social media.
Virginia is the latest in a string of states that have tried in recent years to legislate restrictions on cellphone use in classrooms as parents and teachers express growing concern about distractions and possible harms posed by the devices.
Less than a month ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom similarly expressed a desire to more heavily restrict smartphones in schools, alluding to several legislative proposals that may move forward this year.
Indiana passed a law in March requiring schools to adopt policies restricting cellphone use during instructional time, and Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia also introduced legislation this year to keep phones out of schools.
Last year, Florida became the first state to outright ban the use of cellphones during class time and to block access to social media on school district Wi-Fi.
