Richmond Public Schools aims to implement policies in accordance with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order to establish cell phone-free education, and promote the health and safety of RPS students, Chief Wellness Officer Renesha Parks said at Monday’s school board meeting.
The Virginia Department of Education released a cellphone guidance document for school divisions on Aug. 15. Parks said it helped clarify points the district had not considered as her team works to make final recommendations to the school board.
The statewide final recommendations are set to be released Sept. 16.
In January, RPS launched a pilot program establishing cellphone-free policies at three middle schools and three high schools. Students were asked to put phones in magnetically sealed bags — or Yondr pouches. Only three schools — Martin Luther King Jr., Dogwood, and River City middle schools — have continued the practice.
Students at Huguenot High School tried the Yondr pouches but opted for a less restrictive plan, where they can use their phones during lunch or between classes. Under Youngkin’s executive order, cellphones cannot be used during school hours.
A few board members on Monday lamented the distraction that the devices have created in the classroom.
“I hope it becomes the norm that we're able to be in a classroom, listen to the teacher and write things down on paper,” Third District representative Kenya Gibson said.
Though the school board debated the concept, VDOE defined “bell-to-bell” as being from when the first bell rings at the start of the school day to begin instruction until the dismissal bell rings at the end of the academic day. This includes lunch and time between class periods.
For elementary school students, the district will need to craft cellphone policies for use on school buses, too. Accommodations will also need to be discussed for students who need specialized support — like English learners who use their devices for interpretation, students with disabilities and those with medical needs, like monitoring glucose levels on a cellphone app.
Parks said she has been told that no students with disabilities across the division use phones to access instruction. If they did, it would need to be built into their individualized education plans under the new guidelines.
“Now, knowing that this is a hot topic, and there are positive and negative perspectives, we want to make sure that everyone ... has an opportunity to give some feedback,” Parks said.
Feedback must be collected quickly: The executive order says new policies must be in effect by Jan. 1, 2025, meaning the board would have to vote on recommendations prior to winter break.
Fifth District representative Stephanie Rizzi asked Parks if the feedback would alter or change her recommendations.
Parks said it “may or may not,” depending on what the final guidance from the state is.
“We'll have a uniform set of guidance that will be brought to the board. But how that guidance is implemented in each school, we think there might be some variation based upon what the school feels is most appropriate,” Superintendent Jason Kamras said.
Ninth District representative Shavonda Fernandez said she wants to make sure there is oversight of the process, if the board chooses to give individual schools autonomy and had questions on how the division plans to address parents calling schools.
“As we think through some of the feedback that we received from Yondr pouches, it was very successful in some schools and some schools, not so much,” Fernandez said. “And then recommendations on structure, on how calls are captured and communicated to students with the lack of cellphones. If there is an emergency, will we have more staff on hand?”
Parks responded to Fernandez: “At the end of the day, we have been charged by the governor to have cellphone-free education, and that's what we will have. But one of the reasons why we want to make sure that we are incorporating feedback from our families and the community is because we want them to feel like they have some buy-in within this process. But the goal is to make sure that we are in compliance.”
RPS plans to hold a series of listening sessions, and a community survey is available for feedback. Comments also can be emailed to [email protected].
