Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia will begin a pilot program in some middle schools in the 2024-25 school year that will ban students from using cell phones during class.
Seven schools will participate in the pilot program: Frost Middle School, Irving Middle School, Jackson Middle School, Poe Middle School, Robinson Middle School, Thoreau Middle School and Twain Middle School.
“To minimize disruption to classes and improve student engagement and learning, cell phone use will be prohibited during school hours,” FCPS said in a statement on its website.
Beginning the week of Sept. 2, students attending schools participating in the pilot program will be given a cell phone storage pouch, known as a Yondr Pouch. The pouch is magnetic and prevents students from using their cell phones for social media, texting, phone calls or anything else.
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People lock their cell phones into “Yondr” pouches before entering an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City on November 22, 2019. (Getty Images)
Students are responsible for maintaining their own Yondr pouch and bringing it to school each day.
Each morning upon arriving at school, students will place their phones securely locked in their Yondr pouch and inside their backpacks. Airpods must be securely fastened in the pouch or left in the student’s backpack. Smartwatches, on the other hand, must be turned off or put into airplane mode.
In the event of a family emergency, parents may contact the school’s front office.
“The goal of this pilot program is to create an environment where students can better focus and learn without the distractions of cell phones and social media,” FCPS said on its website. “Research has shown that students who use cell phones during class are less likely to concentrate, learn less effectively, and receive lower grades.”
Students are responsible for maintaining their own Yondr pouch and bringing it to school each day. (Getty Images)
The new cell phone policy will be enforced every time the bell rings at school each day.
Students will have their cell phones with them all day, but they cannot use them until their pouches are opened at the Yonder Unlocking Station at the end of class.
If a student forgets their pouch, the cell phone must be stored in the front office during class and returned to the student after school.
If a student damages or loses a pouch, a school staff member will collect the phone or pouch and deliver it to the front office during the remainder of the school day. Students will be assessed a replacement fee of $18.
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Seven schools are expected to participate in the pilot program in the 2024-25 school year. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
This comes after Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, signed an executive order last month directing the Virginia Department of Education to “draft guidelines for public school districts to adopt local policies and procedures establishing no-cell phone instruction.”
“The need to implement anti-cell phone education in Virginia’s elementary, middle, and high schools is becoming increasingly clear,” Governor Youngkin wrote in the order. “Parents, public health experts, educators, and other stakeholders across the state have expressed concern about the serious mental health crisis and chronic health problems plaguing young people, including depression and anxiety, that are in part due to children’s extensive use of social media and the widespread use of cell phones.”
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“No-cell phone education will significantly reduce the amount of time students are allowed to use their phones without parental supervision,” he added.
In addition to Virginia, school districts in California, New York, Texas, Georgia and other states have begun implementing policies to limit cell phone use in class, many of which are using Yonder Pouches.
