Alexandria City Public Schools will give “thoughtful consideration and review” in upcoming meetings on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s recent executive order banning cell phones in public schools.
Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 earlier this week, directing the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to create guidance for school systems across the state to “adopt local policies and procedures establishing cell phone-free education.”
The move, Youngkin said, is a response to mental health data suggesting that phone usage has a detrimental effect on youth.
“This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn,” Youngkin said in a release. “Creating cell phone and social media-free educational environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents, and educators.”
The Governor’s office said the executive order calls for public information sessions, and to have the draft guidance ready by August 15, after which VDOE will issue recommendations to school systems on Jan. 1, 2025.
Alexandria School Board Chair Michelle Rief said that the Board will discuss the plan in upcoming meetings.
“We understand that this is an important topic,” Rief said. “To that end, we want to give the cell phone policy thoughtful review and consideration, especially once the policy guidance is received from the Virginia Department of Education. The School Board will discuss its plan to address this in its upcoming meetings and will update the community as we confirm our path moving forward.”
Alexandria does not always follow Youngkin’s recommendations, including decrying and then ignoring his proposed restrictions against transgender students.
Janet Kelly, Virginia’s secretary of Health and Human Resources, said that “too many childhoods have been ended because of the “wild west of addictive apps.”
“The more we learn, the more we know that too much screen time – especially time spent on addictive apps – is harmful to kids’ physical and mental health,” Kelly said. “A few weeks ago, the Surgeon General of the United States issued a formal advisory suggesting that tech companies be required to put a warning label on social media apps.”
As for data, the governor’s office released the following:
Implementing cell phone-free education in Virginia’s K-12 public schools is critical, especially given youth chronic health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, that are driven in part by extensive social media and cell phone use. Children spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media, and recent studies indicate that spending more than three hours a day on social media doubles the risk of poor mental health for adolescents. Most alarming is the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2019-2021, reporting that the rate of suicide has increased 167% since 2010 for girls and 91% since 2010 for boys. In the same timeframe, boys and girls experienced a spike in depression of 161% and 145%, respectively.
