Virginia Students, Administrators React to Limits on Phones, Devices

Virginia students started the school year earlier than in the recent past, thanks to a 2019 law that allowed districts to start classes in mid-August. Students are also spending less time on their phones, and for hyper-online members of Generation Z, that is an adjustment.

In 2024, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order to limit the use of phones and other smart devices during the school day. This spring, the General Assembly tightened those restrictions.

The law says that each school board must develop policies to “restrict student cell phone and smart device possession and prohibit student cell phone and smart device use on school property from bell to bell.” All public elementary and secondary schools are required to implement those policies.

In Henrico County, that means students can’t pull out their phones without a teacher’s permission, and they aren’t allowed to wear smartwatches. So far, the policy seems to have been welcomed by students there.

The Daily Signal spoke with several students in a Henrico County High School.

“I like the cell phone ban because it encourages students to talk to each other, and it makes it harder for students to use phones to cheat,” one student said.

“I like that teachers are allowed to take the phones if they see them in class,” another student said. “I also like that students are able to keep their phones in their backpacks in case of an emergency.”

Yet another noted that forcing students to put away phones removes an instructional barrier.

Some districts didn’t wait for the state government to act. “This is our third year with cell phone-free schools in Goochland,” Goochland County Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Armstrong told the Daily Signal. “We have prohibited use and possession of cell phones at all times bell to bell since 2023-2024, including transitions and lunch time. Implementation continues to be effective.”

Armstrong added that the step was taken to help students focus throughout the day. “Our teachers and staff have always maintained their classrooms in a way that prioritizes student focus on learning,” he told the Daily Signal. “A more significant impact is fewer distractions in ‘non-instructional’ time in class transitions. Students come into class ready to learn and not focused on what they were seeing on their phones.”

Districts are concerned about more than personal electronic devices. Some Virginia schools are also limiting the amount of time that students spend on district-issued devices. The Chesterfield and Henrico school districts changed their policies for this year, so kids won’t spend so much time working on school-issued electronics.

Elementary school students in Chesterfield will only take their laptops home “based on instructional needs and academic enrichment opportunities,” as decided by their principal. Henrico will also send younger students home without electronics and will limit how long they may look at screens in class. Its new policies limit daily use to 15 minutes in pre-K, 45 minutes in kindergarten, an hour in first grade, 75 minutes in second grade, and 90 minutes in grades three through five.

A fresh round of statewide changes to electronic device policy may be in the works for next year. State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, said he will unveil a draft policy to limit the use of educational technology in schools when the state Legislature returns in January.

Meanwhile, Virginia stands to benefit from a $17 billion settlement that a coalition of attorneys general reached last week with Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. The tech giant had faced accusations that it “knowingly exposed young users to serious mental harms and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platforms.” As part of the agreement, Meta will impose daily time limits for young users, limit use during the school day, and provide additional, user-friendly parental controls.

Virginia will receive at least $353 million from the agreement. “With this relief, Virginia will finally be able to put substantial resources behind initiatives to undo these harms, prevent future harms, and change the face of how young people interact with social media for years to come by continuing to hold social media companies accountable,” Attorney General Jay Jones announced. Meta did not admit guilt or legal wrongdoing in settling the case.