HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — It’s back to school time for a majority of students in the Hampton Roads region, including Virginia Beach, Newport News, Suffolk and Hampton.

10 On Your Side’s Michael Rinker was in Hampton Monday morning to see how Hampton City Schools is making sure students stay safe this school year.

Starting with the commute to and from campus each day, Hampton City Schools stated they are now using red-light cameras near school buildings. The cameras will be able to help detect when a driver near campus is speeding, running a red light or driving recklessly while students may be nearby.

Those caught by the red-light cameras, which are in partnership with Verra Mobility, will be given a civil monetary penalty and are not considered traffic violations.

The city of Hampton states they have seen multiple drivers who cut through downtown Hampton to avoid bridge or tunnel traffic, which can potentially put students at risk. Once a car is detected to have violated safety patterns, the report will be reviewed by the police department to confirm if a violation has occurred.

Hampton City Schools will also have security and resource officers inside school buildings to maintain a safe learning environment.

“My number one priority is providing a safe and nurturing school environment that is coupled with, aligned with the school board’s priorities as well. With that in mind we do have school security officers and then school resource officers,” said Hampton City Schools Superintendent Dr. Raymond Hanes. “The difference is a school resource officer is actually a uniformed officer, a school security officer is [someone] who is trained in house by our head of school security working alongside school resource officers but of course they have no arresting powers.”

WAVY 10’s Keagan Hughes was in Virginia Beach Monday morning, where students headed back to school will have to comply with Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ cell phone-free education policy.

Ahead of the school year, VBCPS’s Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson said he hopes to see more focus and proficiency in the classroom. The newest change in the policy will be for high schoolers, who will now no longer have access to their devices during one lunch.

Robertson stated he expects higher cell phone violations towards the beginning of the school year, but said he knows the number will lessen throughout the year.