Cell Phone-Free Education in Virginia K-12 Public Schools
Commonwealth Conversation on Restoring Childhood Through Common Sense Approaches to Social Media and Cell Phones
On the evening of September 19, the First Lady and Dr. Haidt convened a fireside chat and discussed the findings of Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness and how it informs our communities and schools in limiting social media and cell phone use to help restore childhood and play.
Schools are encouraged to watch the recording and hold a conversation with their school communities on cell phones and social media's effects on children. Learn how your school can get involved and host an event.
Executive Order 33
On July 9, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 to help bring cell phone-free education to Virginia schools. Recognizing the mental health effects on children and the impact student’s dependence on cell phones are having in our schools, Governor Youngkin directed coordination between VDOE and the Secretary of Education alongside the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, State Health Commissioner, the Department of Health, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to help parents, teachers, and students better understand the effects of cell phone and social media usage on our children.
Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order also charged the Virginia Department of Education with defining what a cell phone-free education means in the Commonwealth and to develop guidance on policies for school divisions to adopt to remove cell phones from instructional time in our K-12 public schools. He requested that the VDOE facilitate a statewide discussion and engagement on cell phone-free education and listen to Virginians’ ideas on how to create a better learning environment without cell phones. To help support Virginia’s parents and teachers, Governor Youngkin looked to VDOE to support school divisions with best practices and other implementation resources to demonstrate where others were already having success removing phones from their schools.
Microgrants Available for Schools
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is pleased to announce a microgrant opportunity for school divisions to support educating families in removing barriers to education, specifically focusing on cell phone addictions and mental health challenges related to social media. These parent education programs can also support chronic absenteeism, social media, bullying and hazing. The school-based grant has been referenced as a support to the implementation of Executive Order 33. Parent education programs should focus on community conversations and removing student barriers to learning.
Schools can seek up to $5,000 through this competitive grant award process. Interested school divisions should complete the application. If the proposal is the same for multiple schools within a division, one application may be used. The school division may apply for up to $10,000 for multiple schools.
The VDOE will work through the school division’s designated contact person, as provided by the division, for all matters related to the application, contacts, negotiations, and notifications. Applicants submitting proposals that are not awarded by the VDOE will be notified in writing. The division’s designated contact person should complete the application. The deadline for grant proposals is October 3, 2024.
For additional information, please contact Melissa Duval, Executive Director of Parental Engagement, melissa.rickey@doe.virginia.gov.
Moving Forward
Virginians can expect the following next steps:
- School divisions will adopt policies and procedures by January 1, 2025. School divisions are encouraged to review their current policies and adopt age-appropriate policies and procedures aligned with the guidance ahead of this date or policies that are more comprehensive than the final guidance.
The Department is proud to take these meaningful actions towards improving the health and safety of Virginia's K-12 public school students, creating a more focused educational environment where teachers can teach and students can learn at their best.