by Moriah Schranz

On July 9, 2024, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33, requiring students of public schools to have their cell phones away at all times.

While this plan was issued in July, Norfolk Public Schools plans on enacting it January 1, 2025.

Maury High School seeks a common ground between district policy and the governor’s expectations, but implementation is a big hurdle. 

Executive Order 33 states that the policy was made to “promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn.” The order also claims that children spend on average 4.8 hours a day on social media, which studies show is directly related to poor mental health, and that there has been a “precipitous drop in National Assessment for National Education Progress (NAEP) scores beginning in 2012.” 

Governor Youngkin uses these statistics along with the increase in suicide rates for adolescents to support his order.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) says that this plan will be enforced “bell to bell.” “Bell to bell” means from when the first bell rings at the start of school until dismissal. This includes all of lunch and in transition. The VDOE also defines instructional time as any structured or unstructured learning time during these first and last bells. At these times, even if work is not being completed, the VDOE expects cell phones to be completely away.

This order is not restricted to cell phones. The VDOE states that all personal electronic communication devices will be banned. This includes, but is not limited to, smart watches, headphones, laptops or tablets.

Not everyone supports the governor’s order. The Commodore Chronicle conducted an Instagram poll on October 8, and 81% of the respondents disagreed with the cell phone ban. Olivia Momtsious, sophomore at Maury, said she didn’t want the school to take away phone use during lunch or transition. 

“It’s nice to have a brain break during an almost seven-hour school day,” Olivia said. 

This leads to the big question of how the policy will be enforced. According to Govtech.com,  the ban will be enforced with a tiered punishment system, with the offending student being prohibited from bringing their phone to school on the fourth infraction.

The Norfolk City School Board Policies and Regulations states, “a student’s person and/or personal effects (e.g. purse, book bag, etc.) may be searched by a school official whenever the official has reasonable suspicion to believe that the student has violated or is about to violate the law or a school rule and that the search will yield evidence of the violation.”

This means it’s possible that if the school has suspicion of you having a cell phone on campus, even though you are prohibited from having one, they can search you and determine possible punishments.

As of the 2024-2025 school year, almost all AP exams are online. This has led to computers being a necessary part of day-to-day instruction. How personal laptops, which are allowed and encouraged for school, will be monitored is a mystery. 

However, the VDOE gives exemptions to comply with a students Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act). Allowable exemptions must be written into 504, IEP and/or individualized health care plans. Also, if a student with a disability or an EL student with a documented language barrier is determined to need access to banned technology, then their needs must be supported by the school.

Principal Berg of Maury High School strives to “find the happy medium between what the Governor says and the Virginia Department of Education.” She hypothesizes that the biggest issue will be keeping the cell phones completely out of sight. Since many students come to school without backpacks, Principal Berg suggests that Maury invest in string bags to give to students if they walk into school with no place for their phones. 

Maury High faculty are still understanding what this policy truly means and the effect it will have on the school. For now, nothing has changed, but as soon as the new year begins, the new policy will begin as well.