RICHMOND, Va. — Picture a classroom where students are fully engaged, their attention undivided by the constant buzz of cellphones. Well, that's exactly what Gov. 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 cellphone-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.
"This is about conversation and understanding why this is important," said Aimee Guidera, the Virginia Secretary of Education.
Youngkin explained that bringing cellphone-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 cellphone use. He says studies done by the American Psychological Association show 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.
“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 cellphones and social media and eliminates clear distractions in the classroom," Youngkin said. "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.
The governor said that they've also set aside $500,000 for the VDOE and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBDHS) for any mental health resources the school districts need.
“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," Guidera said. "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."
The executive order tells VDOE to release their draft guidelines by Aug. 15. VDOE will give final guidelines in September for schools to start cellphone-free policies by Jan. 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 cellphones in K-12 schools.
To weigh in and to learn more about the executive order, click here.
Some Virginia schools already limit cellphones, 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.
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