Do You Support Cell Phone Ban During School Day? Take VA Patch Survey

VIRGINIA — While the start of 2025 marks the deadline for Virginia school districts to adopt cell phone-free policies in the classrooms, many school districts have already implemented restrictions on student cell phone use during the school day.

We want to know how Virginia Patch readers perceive these restrictions.

The Virginia Department of Education had released guidance about cell phone and electronic device policies in classrooms following an executive order from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The state guideline requires school districts to review existing cell phone policies and ensure they meet minimum guidelines by Jan. 1, 2025.

Under the guidance, students must have cell phones turned off and stored away during the bell-to-bell school day. High school students would be allowed to use cell phones before and after the school day, and school districts could set policies for middle school student use before and after school. School districts may also determine policies for off-site events and activities, such as field trips and bus transportation. The guidance calls for students and parents or guardians to use school-based communications to get in touch for emergencies and non-emergencies.

Exemptions are allowed under the state guidance for students with medical needs through IEPs, 504 plans or individualized health-care plans. Feedback from the public indicated some students may use phone-based apps to monitor health for medical reasons.

We are surveying our coverage area — Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg — on cell phone policies in school. We want to know what you think of cell phone restrictions in general and policies in your local school district. Survey responses may be used in a future Patch story overviewing the cell phone-free education state requirements and Northern Virginia districts' policies.

The survey will be open until noon on Dec. 27. The survey is anonymous and non-scientific. It is only intended to show Patch reader sentiment about cell phone-free education. If you cannot see the survey below, click here.