Fairfax County (Va.) district bans student cellphone use during most of school day
Student use of cellphones in the Fairfax County (Va.) district will be banned in most places when classes resume later this summer break.
WTOP News reports that the Fairfax County School Board has voted 8-4 to ban cellphones during class and in bathrooms and locker rooms, other than for emergencies.
High schoolers will be allowed to use their phones in between classes and during lunch.
The changes adopted by the board will require students in kindergarten through sixth grade to have phones silenced and in backpacks during the school day. Items like smartwatches can be worn, but phone features would need to be turned off when phones are not allowed to be used. Phones and tablets also cannot be used in bathrooms or locker rooms.
For seventh- and eighth-graders, the same would apply, but phones can be stored in a locker backpack or pencil bag during the day.
For high school students, phones, phone accessories and smartwatches aren’t allowed during instructional periods.
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About the Author
Mike Kennedy
Senior Editor
Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.
