Virginia GOP Gov Younkin signs new law to ban phones in school, on trend with other states

Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently signed legislation that now requires students to be cell-phone free during the school day, making his state the most recent to adopt such a policy.

Virginia's policy was first introduced through an executive order last year and will require “bell-to-bell” cell phone-free policies. It also provides $500,000 in funding to Virginia schools, compared to similar legislation in most other states that doesn't include money for schools to implement such changes. 

Florida in 2023 became the first state to ban cellphones in schools, but now over half of all states have laws in place, with still more on the way, according to the Associated Press. 

Red and blue states alike largely agreed that students using such phones while in school has a negative impact on their education.

A 2024 PEW Research Center study showed that 72% of high school teachers recognize cell-phones as a major distraction and problem within the classroom setting.

In Georgia, a bill was passed in March that banned phones in school for grades K-8. 

“This is not just an academic bill,” Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton said following the bill’s passage. “This is a mental health bill. It’s a public safety bill.” 

Connecticut state Democratic Rep. Jennifer Leeper referred to cell phones as "a cancer on our kids." 

She also stated that they are "driving isolation, loneliness, decreasing attention and having major impacts both on social-emotional well-being but also learning." 

Concerned parents have raised some objections about the “bell-to-bell” bans. 

Tinya Brown is mother to a student at Apalachee High School, in Atlanta, where a shooting occurred last year. At a Georgia news conference, she argued, “It was only through text messages that parents knew what was happening.” 

In response to these concerns, some laws have called for schools to find other ways for parents to communicate with their kids while at school. Most lawmakers say that they support access to phones in the case of an emergency, according to the Associated Press.

As of now, according to a map by the wire service, states with a school-day ban include Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia.

Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia have an instructional time ban in place.

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Washington either require or recommend a local cell phone usage policy. 

Legislation is pending in Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin.