Youngkin signs Virginia law limiting 'bell-to-bell' cellphone use in public schools

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a measure into instrumentality Friday limiting cellphone usage for each Virginia nationalist elementary, mediate and precocious schoolhouse students. 

Youngkin, who built his governmental vocation championing parents' rights successful education, ceremoniously signed 2 versions of the bill, HB1961 and SB738, astatine the Carter G. Woodson Middle School successful Hopewell, Virginia. Youngkin said it was a fitting determination for a time filled with specified "hope."

"When we travel unneurotic — elected officials, administrators, teachers, parents and each of you — we tin determination mountains, and we tin alteration thing that needs to beryllium changed, and that is to find freedom, state from cellphones," said Youngkin, who was flanked by his wife, Virginia archetypal lady Suzanne S. Youngkin; nationalist schoolhouse students; acquisition advocates; and section politicians. 

"We travel unneurotic successful bid to determination a mountain," Youngkin said, arsenic helium highlighted the antagonistic effect of cellphones successful schools connected intelligence illness, behaviour successful class, academic performance and interpersonal relationships. 

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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a instrumentality limiting cellphone usage successful schools.  (iStock; Getty Images)

The measure strictly limits the usage of phones successful classrooms to trim distractions and disruptions, codifying Youngkin's enforcement order signed past twelvemonth "to support the wellness and information of students successful Virginia’s K-12 nationalist schools by issuing guidance connected the constitution of cellphone-free education policies and procedures."

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"We are gathering connected the instauration laid by Executive Order 33 to marque Virginia the nationalist person successful restoring focus, world excellence successful the schoolroom and restoring wellness and information successful our schools. This authorities ensures that each schoolhouse part adopts a afloat bell-to-bell argumentation and removes cellphones from classrooms, creating a distraction-free learning environment," Youngkin said arsenic helium signed the measure into law. 

Research indicates utilizing cellphones successful the schoolroom tin person a antagonistic effect connected students' grades, societal skills, affectional improvement and intelligence health. 

In a 2024 Pew Research Center study, much than 70% of precocious schoolhouse teachers said cellphones distracting students successful the schoolroom is simply a large problem. 

"This wasn't conscionable an issue. It's a crisis. And erstwhile we person a crisis, we person a unified telephone for action, and that's what this gathering is each about, this unified telephone for action," Youngkin said Friday. 

A teen scrolls her phone. (iStock)

Hopewell City Public Schools adopted a "pouch system" successful its secondary schools astatine the commencement of the 2022-2023 schoolhouse year, which has been utilized arsenic a lawsuit survey and imaginable exemplary for the Virginia Department of Education's cellphone-free acquisition rollout. 

"I privation to adhd my appreciation for Hopewell's enactment due to the fact that it was your enactment that inspired the enforcement bid that I wrote past summer," Youngkin said. 

The statewide authorities requires schoolhouse boards to make and nationalist schools to enact policies to restrict pupil cellphone usage during the schoolhouse day. The instrumentality includes exceptions for students with individualized acquisition plans, Section 504 plans oregon wellness conditions, truthful cellphones tin beryllium utilized erstwhile medically necessary. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference astatine the Washington Hilton June 22, 2024, successful Washington. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The instrumentality besides prohibits schools from suspending, expelling oregon removing students from people for violating cellphone policies. 

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Florida became the archetypal authorities to walk a instrumentality regulating cellphone use successful schools successful 2023. More than fractional of each states present person akin laws successful place.