Headline Roundup • July 11th, 2024
Virginia Gov. Youngkin Signs Executive Order to Restrict Cellphone Use in Schools
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order on Tuesday requiring the state's K-12 public schools to establish “cellphone-free” policies.
The Details: The new policy requires Virginia’s Department of Education to establish new guidelines that will limit cellphone use in schools and go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. The department will work with teachers, parents, and students to create methods “that establish the age-appropriate restriction or elimination of cell phone use during instructional time.”
For Context: Youngkin’s action arrives amid a growing debate about children's social media and cellphone use. Several studies have linked excessive screen time, especially on social media platforms, to mental health issues in children and adolescents. Similar policies have been implemented or are being considered in several other cities and states, including New York City and Los Angeles.
Key Quote: In a statement, Youngkin said, “Today’s Executive Order both establishes the clear goal to protect the health and safety of our students by limiting the amount of time they are exposed to addictive cell phones and social media and eliminates clear distractions in the classroom.”
How The Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left bias) noted a report from Pew Research Center (Center bias) that found 72% of high school teachers think cell phone distraction is a “major problem in the classroom.” Fox News (Right bias) noted that the Superintendent of Richmond Public Schools, Jason Kamras, told The Associated Press (Lean Left bias) that a pilot ban last year yielded positive results. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued a new executive order Tuesday that will limit or ban cell phone use in public schools – the latest in a string of efforts by officials to crack down on what many see as a classroom distraction and a threat to students’ mental health.
The order by Youngkin, a Republican, directs the Virginia Department of Education to establish guidelines for a cell phone-free education, the governor’s office said in a news release. The new policies are to be implemented in schools by January 1, 2025, with a draft of...
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on Tuesday ordered schools in his state to go cellphone-free, as similar bans on technology take hold in schools across the country.
Youngkin issued the executive order directing the Virginia Department of Education to draft guidance for public schools to adopt cellphone-free policies. The department will also work with teachers, parents, students and other leaders to create procedures “that establish the age-appropriate restriction or elimination of cell phone use during instructional time.”
The goal of the order is to limit the amount of time students are “exposed...
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed an executive order calling for the establishment of "cellphone-free education" in public schools in an effort to fight back against what he describes as an "alarming mental health crisis and chronic health conditions affecting adolescents."
The measure, which was signed by the Republican on Tuesday, orders state agencies and its Department of Education to come up with new guidelines that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
"The necessity of implementing cell-phone free education in Virginia’s K-12 public schools is increasingly evident," Youngkin wrote in the order. "Parents,...
