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Virginia is the latest state seeking to curb students' school-day use of cellphones, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order Tuesday calling for the state to help school districts create local phone-free policies.
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State education and health leaders — along with parents, students and educators — are to develop guidance that school districts can adopt for establishing age-appropriate restrictions and limits for student cellphone use at school. The guidance is to include recommended protocols for when parents need to reach their children in an emergency.
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The directive cites the worsening mental health crisis in children, which research has tied to overexposure to social media. Cellphone addiction also causes learning distractions, the order said.
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“This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn," said Youngkin in a statement. "Creating cell phone and social media-free educational environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents, and educators.”
Like Virginia, several other states have recently moved to tamp down students' use of phones during the school day.
Typically, the burden of keeping students off their phones has fallen to classroom teachers and school administrators. Nearly 75% of high school teachers said cellphone distraction is a major problem in their classrooms, according to late 2023 polling of 2,531 K-12 teachers by Rand Corp. and published by Pew Research Center.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and California Gov. Gavin Newsom in recent months have announced support for creating legislation to restrict or limit cellphone use in schools.
Other states, through bipartisan efforts, have already cracked down on device use in schools. A 2023 law in Florida requires school districts to prohibit student cell phone use during instructional time. In Indiana, a law that took effect July 1 bans cellphones, laptops, gaming devices and tablets during instructional time, except when teachers allow for it and when devices are necessary for students with disabilities.
Utah and Alabama have also taken steps this year to keep classrooms phone-free.
Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy urged parents and schools to create phone-free experiences for children.
Murthy also voiced support for attaching warning labels to social media, saying digital overuse and risky behaviors have contributed to the youth mental health crisis.
Social media companies and some other experts, on the other hand, have said mental health challenges in youth can't be all blamed on apps, and that there are benefits to having children connect online with other youth.
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