Students at Bayside Sixth Grade Campus in Virginia Beach, VA, are required to put their phones in their lockers before coming to class. PHOTOS BY JULIANNE TRIPP HILLIAN

Starting last school year, all my students at Bayside Sixth Grade Campus in Virginia Beach, VA, were required to put their phones in their lockers before coming to class. In limiting students’ cell phone access, we were ahead of the state policy on the issue. Following an executive order last summer from Governor Glenn Youngkin, all schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia were required to have cell phone restrictions in place by January 1. Our state is among the first to adopt such restrictions.

Under our policy, which covers Virginia Beach City Public Schools, students cannot have phones with them during instructional time. If they do, they receive a discipline referral. The first offense is a verbal warning, but multiple offenses can lead to further discipline.

One rationale for the ban is that phones interfere with the learning environment. As an administrator, I have managed incidents where cell phones played a role in the bullying of students on social media and other online activities. Students also have access to online content that they shouldn’t be accessing without adult supervision. Unfortunately, the in-school ban does nothing to prevent students from doing the same potentially harmful activities at other hours outside
of school.

Parental Concerns

Parents have expressed concerns about the policy since it was adopted, the primary one being the possibility of an in-school incident where their child’s safety might be endangered. They just want to know their child is OK. Sadly, I’ve even had parents tell me that if this is the last time they ever hear from their child, they want them to have access to their phone regardless of any policy.

I tell the parents what our policy is—requiring the phones to be in lockers—but at the same time, I do not physically search students or confiscate phones. However, there will be discipline if they are caught. Some parents prefer that their child be disciplined as long as they can keep their phone.

Bayside students with a phone outside of class. Students cannot have phones with them during instructional time.

Another concern that has been raised involves the impact of phone-related discipline incidents on a school’s discipline profile and reputation. We know students are going to push back against policies like this as much as they can, so we might end up issuing a lot of discipline referrals. If 30 of our students receive a referral because of a cell phone violation, for example, that affects the overall statistics in a negative way and really presents an unfair impression of the school’s profile.

I don’t think students need to have their phones in the classroom, but the issue takes up a lot of our time. I wish we could just focus on instruction and building relationships. Before the ban, we didn’t have big concerns about phones. Students typically didn’t take them out and start using them during class, especially if our teachers were presenting the material well and engaging them in learning.

If a student does keep their phone, and it’s ringing or notifying them of a text, it’s usually a parent. They might be telling their child about a change in plans, like they will pick them up at school so don’t take the bus. But once the phone goes off, under this new policy we must give them a discipline referral.

Enforcement Issues in High School

Middle school students are challenging, but I think enforcing the policy is much more difficult for a high school. The school is bigger, the kids are savvier, and many of them have responsibilities outside of school like jobs or taking care of younger siblings. Some even make money as social media influencers.

As Virginia and other states move forward with restricting cell phones in schools, districts will face the same challenges we do. Ultimately, it’s about figuring out how to make the policy work without spending all day monitoring phones. At the same time, we need to make parents feel they can trust the school to keep their kids safe and be able to communicate with them when necessary.

Some schools use a bag in the classroom to store the phones, but that can create liability issues. If someone steals a phone or it gets broken, who will be held responsible? By having students store them in their locker, we avoid that issue.

For any school or district where this issue is being discussed or implemented, I think a good starting point is to have a small meeting between the administration and parents. Then, school leaders can take parents’ concerns back to the central office. I think meeting with students is also important. They need to be heard. But in the end, school leaders must follow whatever policy is adopted.

It’s like anything that’s new; over time we figure out how to make it work. That doesn’t mean everyone will be happy. But right now, we’re seeing a shift. We’ve always asked students to put their phones away, but there wasn’t such clear discipline attached to violating the rules. I have seen schools with strict cell phone policies make it work, and we can, too.

Sham Bevel is the principal of Bayside Middle School in Virginia Beach, VA, the 2023 Virginia Principal of the Year, and a 2024 National Principal of the Year finalist.

References

Exec. Order No. 33. (2024, July 9). governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/EO-33—Cell-Phones-7.9.24.pdf

Prothero, A., Langreo, L., & Klein, A. (2024, October 25). Which states ban or restrict cellphones in schools? Education Week. edweek.org/technology/which-states-ban-or-restrict-cellphones-in-schools/2024/06