Public schools in Virginia are now required to ban student cell phone usage during school hours, a result of legislation signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin in late May. But what does that mean now that school is back in session? WMRA’s Ayse Pirge reports.
The legislation follows an executive order from last year, in which Youngkin called for the establishment of cell phone–free education in Virginia. The order mentioned the effects of phone use on adolescents, including the impact on mental health and academic performance.
NANCY DEUTSCH: So, the idea is that students … should not have access to their phones pretty much from the time they step into the building until the time that they leave. … It does not lay out how… schools should implement that, right? So there’s lots of different ways that the school could implement it.
Nancy Deutsch is a faculty member at the University of Virginia's School of Education and Human Development. She also directs the YouthNex Center and co-directs the Thriving Youth in a Digital Environment initiative at UVa. Deutsch says the effectiveness of these phone bans remains to be seen.
DEUTSCH: We know that a policy is only as effective as it is adhered to by the people who are supposed to be implementing it. And we also don’t know if some methods of implementing are more effective than others.
Deutsch says her hope is that we see greater engagement in class, but she says she doesn’t see phone bans in school as the solution for the youth mental health crisis.
DEUTSCH: Because I think youth mental health is a very complex issue. And there are ways that decreasing access to digital technology during the day could help improve mental health. There also may be cases where it could actually hurt mental health if youth suddenly feel anxious about not being able to contact family.
And she says that there’s a lot of finger pointing toward social media as having a negative impact on mental health.
DEUTSCH: So it could be that it actually works to reduce kids’ time on social media overall because they spend less time on it during the school day. … But it could also increase use out of school, right? If they feel like when they get out they gotta make up for the time lost at school.
Rhonda Lancaster is in her 21st year of teaching high school English. She currently works at Millbrook High School in Frederick County. She says two years ago it was at the teacher's discretion whether they restricted phone use in class. Last year, based on Frederick County’s interpretation of the governor’s executive order, students were allowed to use phones at certain times during the day, such as between school periods or at lunch.
RHONDA LANCASTER: And now this year we’ve gone one level up from there, where … the starting bell of the day at 7:55 to the final bell at 2:30, they cannot have their phones in sight.
Except, she says, for the rare instructional need with a teacher’s permission. Lancaster thinks dealing with cell phones in public schools is a complicated issue, but that from a teacher perspective, she appreciates not having to worry about phones during class. She says that it prevents some of the conflict between a teacher and a student.
LANCASTER: I think from the student perspective, it’s been a challenge because they do view their phones as so much a part of themselves. And society has kind of made it that way.… Even adults use their phones all the time.
And she says it’s not just a phone.
LANCASTER: It is a computer, it is a camera. And students have kind of gotten used to using their camera to take pictures throughout the day that are their memories of their friends. … And now they don’t have that ability to document their lives the same way.
Students do get to keep their phones with them, as long as they're following the policy.
But what do the students think?
Elisabeth Pitcock is a junior at Handley High School in Winchester. Handley started a pilot program last year, when students were required to have their phones and personal electronic devices off and away for the entire school day. Pitcock says that the first week or two, it was a bit nerve-wracking to learn her schedule without an app, but she says––
ELISABETH PITCOCK: It’s pretty easy to get used to. It’s just off and away the entire day.
Josiah Johnson is a senior at Handley. He agrees with Pitcock.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: I would say the biggest impact… coming from last year would be that everybody’s used to it.
None of these students see a difference in the amount of time they spend on their phones outside of school, but Pitcock says she’s a little more appreciative of her music time. However, she does see it as a safety hazard.
PITCOCK: Just because of the climate of this country and the dangers that schools and students face. I find it slightly discomforting, like especially at lunch when our phones are far away. It’s kind of like if something bad were to happen not having that communication.
Johnson thinks the phones are pretty accessible, and says the new rules don’t make him uncomfortable, because the phones are in the same classroom.
Emma Skarupa, a sophomore at Handley says she feels kids are more concentrated without their phones and less distracted. Skarupa says if she had her phone at lunch she would feel more comfortable, because ––
EMMA SKARUPA: … your classroom is far away from where you’re eating lunch.
Handley High School has an alert system that allows families to receive phone calls, notifications, and emails in emergency situations. Only time will tell what other adjustments public schools will make under the new rules
