CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Paul Phillips, a grandparent of two students in Chesapeake Public Schools, believes cellphones should not be allowed for personal use during the school day.
"They can be a distraction," he said. "Texting, phone calls between students…that would cause a distraction."
Watch: No cell phones from 'bell to bell' in schools, VDOE says in final guidance
Phillips and his wife were part of a small audience Thursday night at Chesapeake Public School headquarters where they watched and listed to a remote discussion streamed by Virginia's First Lady Suzanne Youngkin.
The focus: cell phone use in schools.
"Virginia is in the very bull's eye," Youngkin said.
The First Lady streamed the conversation to school districts across the commonwealth live from Old Bridge Elementary School in Prince William County.
Watch: Here's VDOE's proposed guidance on cellphone use in K-12 public schools
It comes a day after Virginia's Department of Education released guidelines regarding cell phone use in schools.
Dr. Jonathan Haidt joined the First Lady. Haidt, a psychologist, wrote a book titled The Anxious Generation. It touches on the impacts of social media has had on different generations and explains why school districts should implement cell phone-free environments.
"Nobody every regrets it; everybody has the same result which is the kids are laughing, they’re having fun, school becomes more fun," Dr. Haidt said.
Earlier in the day Thursday, Virginia Senate Democrats introduced new legislation requiring school districts to create cell phone-free policies.
Watch: Concerns, questions raised ahead of Va. Dept. of Education's final cell phone guidance
Stella Pekarsky, the senator of western Fairfax County, said this proposed legislation, Senate Bill 738, takes Governor Glenn Youngkin's executive order—introduced earlier in the summer—a step further.
"An executive order does not really have any binding effect on these school districts, like passing a law will in the legislature. We're so thankful that he has elevated this issue, because it is so important. It has become such a huge distraction for students, for teachers and for the learning that is happening," Pekarsky said. "But you know, we felt strongly that we need to elevate this to the point where we're going to require school districts to have a policy, but at the same time, trust that our local school boards, who know their communities best, will be able to talk with their stakeholders, with the parents and families, and come up with the cell phone usage policies that are best aligned for their schools and their students needs."
Pekarsky said the bill provides guidlines for students in special education, and it prevents punishment for students who do use a phone during the school day.
Watch: Youngkin seeks cell phone-free education in Virginia public school classes
"The point of this is to keep kids in class, and cell phone possession should, should not be used to kick kids out of school. You know that that punishment should not is not appropriate," she said. "We feel in this in this area, because we want distraction-free learning, and if you're not in school, you're not learning."
In addition, the bill would ensure administrators are responsible for enforcing the rules—not the teachers.
A spokesperson for Gov. Youngkin released the statement Thursday evening:
“The governor looks forward to reviewing the legislation. Given the well documented and urgent concerns regarding cellphones, he’s encouraged that the cell phone free education executive order that he issued in July has already received broad support from Virginia constituents with 113 out of 130 school divisions having already moved forward with cell phone free education. For the safety and health of Virginia’s children, the governor spearheaded this important initiative and is pleased with the pace its moving.”
In Chesapeake, the Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton, told News 3's Jay Greene the school system already has cell phone-free policies in place. He said the benefits are noticeable.
"We've seen a major decrease in student disciplinary infractions, because we find that our cell phones lead to a lot of challenges with behavior in our schools," he said.
