NORFOLK, Va. — Students at Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) will not be allowed to use cell phones during the school day starting in the new year.
The school board made that official Wednesday night, voting 6-1 to adopt the division’s amended cell phone policy. The school division made the changes to become compliant with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 33, mandating cell phone-free education.
NPS' policy bans electronic communication devices, including phones, smart watches and tablets, from "bell to bell," with no exception for lunch.
Tanya Bhasin was the sole school board member to vote against the policy change Wednesday. "It is 2024. Technology isn’t going away, and I think digital literacy is important," Bhasin said. She added, "Cell phones and devices are also educational tools for our students."
Granby High School senior and student representative Carson Rice made a similar statement to 13News Now Wednesday. She said. "We need to consider, if we’re going to take out phones, can we replace it with other technology?"
In his final school board meeting before taking a seat on Norfolk City Council, school board member Carlos Clanton also addressed the policy Wednesday. He said the school should look into allowing cell phones for students who may use them as medical devices. He explained, "Even though we're adopting this here, I hope we'll look at that and some type of regulation around medical devices."
It's no secret school safety is top of mind for students, parents, teachers and the public. On Monday, two people were killed and six others injured in a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.
Rice told 13News Now, in a potential emergency situation, she believes students and teachers would use their discretion to determine whether or not to use cell phones.
"They would just take out their phone," she said. "They would just feel the urge to [say], 'I need to text my parents, I need to text my friends what’s going on.' I think they would disregard the rules present at the time."
In Executive Order 33, Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote, "Parents, public health professionals, educators, and other stakeholders across the Commonwealth are expressing concern over the alarming mental health crisis and chronic health conditions affection adolescents, such as depression and anxiety, driven in part by extensive social media usage and widespread cell phone possession among children."
School divisions across the state have until January 1 to implement compliant policies. Norfolk is the final Hampton Roads division to approve its policy.