Cell Phone-Free Education Final Guidance & Resources

Font Size: + -

Print

Cell Phone-Free Education Final Guidance

After listening to and reviewing the thousands of comments and suggestions from Virginians on how to bring cell phone-free education to our children’s schools, VDOE has published final guidance for school divisions on policies and procedures to be implemented to establish cell phone-free education and remove cell phones from Virginia’s public school classrooms.

The final guidance defines cell phone-free education in Virginia’s schools as “bell-to-bell", meaning that phones should be turned off and stored away from the first bell at the start of the school day to begin instructional time until the dismissal bell rings at the end of the academic school day. “Bell-to-bell” includes lunch and time in between class periods.

The final guidance also includes a new section: School Safety Considerations for Public Schools to help schools better prepare for school-based emergencies and improve their emergency communication efforts with parents.

Age-Appropriate Restrictions

As required in Executive Order 33, the guidance also incorporates age-appropriate restrictions in Virginia’s elementary and secondary schools.

Elementary School

If a parent determines an elementary student needs to bring a cell phone or personal electronic communication device to school, it must be stored, off, and away from the student during the school day. It should not be used in the school building or on the school grounds before or after school.

middle school student in hallway talking

Middle School

In middle school, a students should not have an easily accessible cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day. School divisions should establish local policies that determine cell phone and personal electronic communication device use within the school building or on school grounds outside of bell-to-bell, including before and after school.

High School

In high school, students should not have an easily accessible cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day. Outside of the bell-to-bell instructional time, cell phones and personal electronic communication devices may be used on a high school campus before or after school.

Addressing Medical Needs & Emergency Situations

The Department also heard the concerns expressed by parents regarding students with documented medical conditions who use their phones to monitor their medical needs. With input from with school nurses, pediatricians, and health care officials, the guidance recognizes students with medical needs may have an exemption included in their 504, IEP and/or individualized health care plans.

Parents were also very clear that they needed the ability to know about their child’s well-being during an emergency situation. The Department recognized the importance of emergency communications to parents and is requiring that all school divisions build plans to communicate directly with parents, as well as reunification plans with children and parents, into their already required crisis and contingency plans. School divisions should discuss those emergency communication and reunification plans with parents so that parents and students know how such situations will be handled proactively if they occur.

Parents also asked for the ability to communicate to their children during the school day in case of a family-based emergency. While many schools already have such procedures in place, the Department’s guidance looks to school divisions to treat family emergencies with urgency and ensure that students have the information and the support needed. Each school should share their family-based emergency school plan procedures with parents and students, as well as post them on their website.

School Division Policies

Listing of School Division Guidance & Policies

Cell Phone-Free Education Final Guidance & Resources