When Virginia’s statewide school phone policy was announced in July 2024 there was a clear expectation of chaos, protests, and endless battles with teachers. Instead, many students complied and the phones stayed away.
The policy, part of governor Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 33, calls for K-12 schools to be completely free of phones during the day. However, Fairfax County Public School’s interpretation of the order leaves room for phones to be used during lunch in the cafeteria. This was a call made by the school board after parent pushback, and since phones at lunch did not interfere with learning, students would be permitted to use them then.
A surprising number are understanding of the policy and have adjusted quickly. Senior Hannah Tran puts her phone away immediately the moment she gets to class.
“I think that it’s a good thing, to be honest,” Tran said. “At first it was hard adjusting personally, but the more I don’t use [my phone], the more I feel like I’m not dependent on it. I have more important things to do as an IB candidate.”
However, there are still some that disagree. Senior Alda Negash finds it to be “BS,” and that staff and administrators should be a little more lenient.
“I understand that in class we shouldn’t have the phones, that I agree with, but I feel like in the hallways… that’s kinda crazy. I wouldn’t mind having my phone taken during class, but the way [that] they’re doing it, they’re really strict with it. I genuinely think it is too much.”
Of course, students find the ban frustrating, but there is a bigger purpose that they might not immediately see. Principal Shawn DeRose emphasized that it was not just about improving academic performance; phones were seen as a threat to student safety and health.
“There’s been studies on the impact on the social and emotional wellness of students. The amount of depression [has] gone up, and they all trace it back to phones,” DeRose said. “It’s not just about learning, it’s not just about academics, but it’s also about your wellness.”
The ban encourages students to interact more with their peers, and also become more aware of their attachment to technology.
“If you can’t survive six minutes of walking to class without music, that signals to me a sort of attachment to your technology that we need to interrupt,” Spanish teacher Lauren Paz Soldan said. “When we think about our [as teachers] job here. It’s to educate you to be like humans, to live in a society, and in a society, you have to interact with other people. You can’t have headphones in all the time and just ignore other humans.”
About a month into the school year, the phones have largely stayed away. Out of roughly 14,000 class periods between 2100 kids each day, the main office only receives 20 referrals for phones. DeRose noted that classrooms are much more engaged and interactive than ever before.
“I walk into classrooms and classrooms are loud,” DeRose said. “They’re talking and kids are saying ‘hi’ and ‘good morning’ and [there is] so much more interaction between students and staff and student and student than I’ve ever seen.”
With phones gone, classrooms feel more alive and a space has opened up for stronger relationships to grow.
“What holds us back [from getting] the best out of our students is distractions, and cellphones are a distraction,” DeRose said.
