Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has issued Executive Order 33, directing the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to develop guidance for public school divisions to implement local policies and procedures that promote cell phone-free education.
Given there is “increasing evidence of the impact cell phone and social media usage has on education and youth mental health,” the Executive Order instructs VDOE to engage parents, students, teachers, school leaders and other stakeholders in developing policies to restrict or eliminate cell phone use instructional time. These policies will also include protocol for parents to contact their children during emergencies or important situations.
Additionally, Governor Youngkin announced that the VDOE and the Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services (DBDHS) will allocate $500,000 available from existing funds to support “mental health and safety initiative.”
“This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn. Creating cell phone and social media-free educational environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents, and educators,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin in a statement. “Today’s Executive Order both establishes the clear goal to protect the health and safety of our students by limiting the amount of time they are exposed to addictive cell phones and social media and eliminates clear distractions in the classroom. It also kicks off the robust conversations among parents, students, teachers, and school and community leaders necessary to design and implement these policies and procedures at the local level.”
“Implementing cell phone-free education in Virginia’s K-12 public schools is critical,” the statement said especially due to rising youth health issues like depression and anxiety exacerbated by excessive use of social media and cell phones. On average, children spend 4.8 hours daily on social media, and studies show that exceeding three hours daily doubles the risk of poor mental health for adolescents.
According to the data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention spanning from 2019 to 2021, the rate of suicide among girls has surged by 167 per cent since 2010, while boys have seen a 91 per cent increase over the same period. Additionally, both boys and girls have experienced significant rises in depression rate, with boys experiencing a 161 per cent increase and girls a 145 per cent during this timeframe.
“The data is clear, and it is time for Virginians to come together to address the damage of social media and screens to healthy childhoods. Government cannot be the sole solution to this crisis; school communities – especially parents and teachers – must work together to discuss and develop common sense approaches to limit screen time, prioritize open channels of communication, and re-establish norms that reinforce healthy and vibrant learning communities,” said Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera.
“Many parents and teachers struggle to balance socializing and social media, play or learning time and screen time, and true human connection and internet connection,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Janet Kelly. “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.
Recently, the US Surgeon General recommended that tech companies should carry warning labels on social media apps. The Executive Order mandates VDOE to release draft guidance by August 15. Following stakeholder feedback, the final guidance will be released in September. This guidance aims to help local schools to implement cell phone-free education policies and procedures starting January 1, 2025.
To gather public input and insights on this policy, VDOE will also have listening sessions and engage stakeholders in the next six weeks. These sessions will focus on soliciting feedback on current practices in Virginia public schools and gathering input for drafting guidelines for cell phone-free education in K-12 public schools.
“Cell phones and digital media have caused pre-teens and teens to disconnect from the real world, have increased mental health challenges, and have caused significant disruption in the important daily learning opportunities in their classrooms,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons.
Coons further added, “Parents and teachers understand the importance of creating cell phone-free education in our schools so that students can focus on instruction and learning during the school day. We look forward to facilitating conversations around the danger to our children of cell phones, social media, and the impact of screen time and will focus on creating guidance that protects the health and safety of our students.”
