In July of 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an Executive Order that directed school divisions to develop policies to eliminate cell phone use in schools and during the school day. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has developed its draft guidance for school divisions to follow in regards to this executive order, and the VDOE will send its final guidance Sept. 15 for divisions to review and discuss.
While waiting for that final VDOE guidance, and for a subsequent policy vote at the Sept. 26 regular meeting of the Portsmouth City School Board, Portsmouth Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Elie Bracy, III, is enacting the following procedures as the administrative rule for the division. This rule comes directly from the VDOE draft guidance and aligns with the Governor’s executive order. It will be in place beginning the first day of school, Monday, Aug. 26.
Highlights of this rule include:
- For elementary school students, cell phones are not to be used within the school building or on school grounds. If a parent wants their elementary student to bring a cell phone to school, the device must be turned off and stored away from the student during the school day.
- For middle and high school students, cell phones are not to be used during the bell-to-bell school day, but can be used before and after school. If middle and high school students bring cell phones to school, they must be stored and turned off during the bell-to-bell school day.
- All students are allowed to use their cell phones on school buses while being transported to and from school, but cell phones are not to be used by students on buses while being transported to field trips or other school-sponsored events.
- Consequences of violating the cell phone rule range from a verbal warning on the first offense to an out-of-school suspension for the fourth offense.
To see the complete draft policy and current cell phone rule for Portsmouth Public Schools,
please see the attached document. For any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s school directly or you can email
[email protected].
The outcome of the School Board vote Thursday Sept. 26 will be shared with staff and families as well as any substantive changes from the current procedures.