Governor Youngkin Issues Executive Order Eliminating Cell Phones During School Instructional Time, Highland County Public Schools Already in Compliance

Governor Glenn Youngkin has issued Executive Order 33 to establish cell phone-free education to promote the health and safety of Virginia’s K-12 students. Executive Order 33 is focused on eliminating cell phone use during instructional time and addressing the mental health issues arising from children’s social media and cell phone addiction. 

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.
• From 2019-2021, 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.

Executive Order 33 directs the Virginia Department of Education to provide guidance to school boards on cell phone-free education policies and procedures. School boards will establish local cell phone-free education policies and procedures before the end of this year that will be implemented in 2025.  

Highland County Public Schools already has a robust cell phone policy in place, one that many parents and students have objected to. It states that elementary school students may not use cellular phones or personal electronic devices during the school day. Under the current Highland policy, middle and high school students may use cell phones, earphones, and electronic devices in the cafeteria during a student’s scheduled lunch time and before and after the instructional day. Cell phones, earphones, and any electronic device brought from home may not be used by students during scheduled instructional time or taken into the classroom for any reason.

Highland County Public Schools supplies chromebooks for educational purposes, and students are encouraged to leave their cell phones, earphones, and electronic devices at home or place them in their lockers. With this policy banning cell phones, earphones, and personal

electronic devices from even being in the classroom, Highland County Public Schools already complies with the governor’s executive order.