NEWPORT NEWS, Va. —
Students, staff and faculty of Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) will now have more guidance on when and where students are allowed to use cell phones at school. The school board voted 6-1 on Tuesday night to adopt an official policy in accordance with a state executive order that bans cell phones in schools that Governor Glenn Youngkin issued in July and the Department of Education finalized in September.
The NNPS policy will prohibit students from using phones and electronic devices from bell to bell. The only exception is for high schoolers, who can use their phones during lunch.
Before the vote, parents were able to voice concerns.
"When you have parents that are asking their child to live stream video and audio from events or on school buses, it's negating our safety practices and the safety procedures that we have in place,” one parent said.
Board member Douglas Brown was the only member to not vote in support of the policy. He said the lunch exception for high schoolers was the reason he voted against it. Superintendent Dr. Michele Mitchell noted a positive reception to limiting cell phones that began earlier this year, before the policy was adopted.
“We had a teacher from Denbigh High School ... talk about the fact that her administrators had really taken the heavy lifting for them and that students' grades and their engagement had increased as well," Mitchell said.
Board member Rebecca Aman also voiced some concern with the lunch exception and said she hopes the board can be flexible in revisiting the policy if changes need to be made.
Wednesday night, the Norfolk School Board is expected to take a final cell phone policy vote. That meeting is at the School Administration Building at 6:30 p.m.