During the new school year, which kicks off Monday (Aug. 19), students at select Fairfax County middle and high schools will be required to hand in their phones in order to turn up their focus.
Starting Sept. 3, Fairfax County Public Schools will begin rolling out a new phone-free pilot program, requiring middle and high school students to secure their cell phones in magnetically sealed pouches or lockers during class to reduce distractions.
FCPS initially limited the pilot program to middle schools, where students are already barred from using cell phones at any point during the school day. The program later expanded to include high schools after nine voluntarily opted in, according to an FCPS spokesperson.
Middle schools
- Frost Middle School
- Irving Middle School
- Jackson Middle School
- Poe Middle School
- Robinson Middle School
- Thoreau Middle School
- Twain Middle School
High schools
- Edison High School
- Falls Church High School
- Justice High School
- Lewis High School
- Madison High School
- McLean High School
- Robinson High School
- Westfield High School
The initiative comes as school divisions across the country move to restrict cell phone use in class, citing concerns about student engagement in school.
The Fairfax County School Board tasked Superintendent Michelle Reid in May with creating a pilot program to study student cell phone use and more stringently enforce existing restrictions by requiring students to secure their phones during class.
A month later, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order instructing the Virginia Department of Education to establish guidelines similar to those being considered by FCPS. The guidelines must be adopted by school boards statewide by Jan. 1, 2025, according to the order.
Earlier this month, FCPS posted new guidelines on its website for how the pilot will work, which are slightly different for middle and high schools.
In middle schools, each student receives a personal Yondr pouch — a magnetic locking device — to store their phone. Upon arriving at school, students must place their phones in their pouch, which they then keep in their backpacks throughout the school day.
The phones must be set to silent or airplane mode, and the pouches can only be unlocked at designated stations at the end of the school day.
For the high school pilot program, students must place their cell phones in a central storage unit at the start of each class and can’t retrieve them until class ends. High school students are currently allowed to use their phones when not in class, including during lunch.
For both middle and high school students, FCPS is instructing parents or caregivers to contact the school’s front office directly if there’s a family or personal emergency. Additionally, each classroom has a phone and intercom system that can be used in emergencies.
Teachers at the pilot schools have also been directed not to use cell phones for instructional activities.
FCPS says students who need access to their cell phones for medical reasons or curriculum-related accommodations will be allowed to keep using them as necessary, in accordance with its current policy on medical accommodations.
The phone-free policy only applies during instructional times and students may use their cell phones during after-school activities, according to the FCPS website.
It’s unclear how administrators will evaluate the pilot’s success or failure, including the type and method of data collection. However, parents and residents can provide written feedback through the school’s website.
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