VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The Virginia Beach City Public School (VBCPS) board discussed moving Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s cell phone-free policy to the 2025-2026 school year.

On Nov. 26, Superintendent Dr. Don Robertson presented the proposal to move the date of the policy. Currently, the policy is expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

During the meeting, school board member Beverly Anderson discussed how the students feel about the proposed ban.

“The students were pretty honest with us and they said we understand, and they did understand the reason for this, but for the most part, they felt that there was no instruction going on, it’s their free time at lunch time, and they felt animatedly that they should be able to have [their phone] during their lunch time.”

Youngkin issued the Executive Order in early July, which mandates that the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) develops guidelines for phone-free environments. Recently, Youngkin has also discussed raising the age limit for children under the age of 18 to use social media platforms.

Members of the VBCPS board have discussed how to best implement the policy at length, holding several policy sessions where residents could voice their concerns.

The district’s current proposal is to have no cellphone usage from bell-to-bell, including lunch and in-between classes. Some parents are concerned about this proposal, saying they want to be able to reach their children in emergencies.

VBCPS board members are expected to vote on the policy during their next meeting on Dec. 13.