Albemarle County Public Schools is tightening cellphone restrictions for students, requiring phones be "away for the day" in all middle schools and away during instructional time in all high schools.
While high schoolers will still be allowed to use their phones during lunch or in between classes, the school division intends to phase out cellphones entirely by August of next year.
The updated cellphone policy, approved by the school board on Dec. 12, is in accordance with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order directing school divisions across the commonwealth to rid their schoolhouses of cellphones calling the devices "distractions in the classroom."
“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,” Youngkin said in a statement announcing the executive order in July.
“Studies indicate that students who use cell phones or other personal communication devices in class learn less and earn lower grades,” according to the Albemarle County cellphone policy. “Accordingly, establishing a personal communication device-free environment in Albemarle County Public Schools is necessary to ensure all students are free to learn in a healthy and focused educational setting.”
Students can store their phones in lockers or backpacks, and the school division provides Yondr pouches for middle schoolers; the pouches are magnetically sealed bags where students can store their cellphones in the morning until the end of the school day.
Three community members spoke in favor of the more restrictive cellphone policy during the school board’s public hearing on Dec. 12.
Former teacher Libby Hewitt referenced several statistics from social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s popular book “The Anxious Generation” about the increase of mental health disorders and decrease of quality face-to-face time among children due to cellphones.
With cellphone-free schools, "we have happier teachers, a real learning environment and face-to-face social opportunities for students," Hewitt said. "So, I’m hoping that that’s going to be the future look of our students in the high schools in Albemarle County and the middle schools.”
As for the neighboring school division in Charlottesville, school policy has mandated that cellphones and personal electronic devices be turned “off and away the entire day” since fall 2023. That prohibition has received both mixed results and responses from students and parents alike.
Beginning this school year, Charlottesville High School teachers and administrators have been confiscating any device a student is seen using during the school day.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com