New cell phone policy for 2026-2027

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

And how exactly would staring at their phone during lunch develop their social skills? Maybe now they will look at a neighbor who is also sitting alone and figure out how to connect, develop their social skills, and improve their mental health. Screens are what got some kids into a pit of loneliness.

I applaud the district/state for trying to improve learning and connection, though I will miss being able to communicate a change in plans to my kid. Hope the main office is ready for the barrage of phone calls coming in to “please contact my kid about…”. And will they have a landline the kids can use to call home if needed? They can’t just cut parents off.

[Anonymous]

This isn’t an FCPS rule. It was a state law FCPS somehow skirted this year. They are just being forced to follow state law.

I write 2-3 referrals a day, every. Single. Day. For kids coming back from the cafeteria staring at their phones as they walk into my classroom. They have a solid 4 minute walk from the cafeteria to my room, and all phones are supposed to be off and away the second they leave the cafeteria anyway—no hallway phones. Some of them truly cannot switch off screen mode in their brain and need to get more to fill the addiction. It’s not “checking texts”, it’s watching videos, scrolling Instagram, etc.

I’m optimistic further limiting it will continue to improve behaviors around campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

And how exactly would staring at their phone during lunch develop their social skills? Maybe now they will look at a neighbor who is also sitting alone and figure out how to connect, develop their social skills, and improve their mental health. Screens are what got some kids into a pit of loneliness.

I applaud the district/state for trying to improve learning and connection, though I will miss being able to communicate a change in plans to my kid. Hope the main office is ready for the barrage of phone calls coming in to “please contact my kid about…”. And will they have a landline the kids can use to call home if needed? They can’t just cut parents off.

Every classroom and office has a landline in every school.

Kids will still turn their phones on immediately at the dismissal bell and see anything you’ve texted mid day, but schools also have always had procedures in place to contact kids in an urgent situation. I suspect once it is a smidgen of effort to contact kids, a lot of what seemed urgent to many of the parents will be able to wait until 3 pm.

It’s worked fine in middle schools where phones were completely restricted this year, it will work fine in high school too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they are being tested poorly. They should be able to text someone or a parent. These are 15-19 yes even 19 YO.

Worry about the vaping. How is letting them have 20 rushed minutes at lunch hurting anyone. Since Covid FCPS worries about the dumbest crap.
And no I’m not a student. I’m a parent who’d like to be able to send a message to my kid and have them see it at lunch.

So the priority here is your convenience. Wow.

[Anonymous]

I believe that this is due to new legislation passed and signed by the State of Virginia, it is not an FCPS policy.

[Anonymous]

Kids have and will continue to find ways around stowing their phones so they can continue to use them during school. And teacher enforcement is already mixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

What do you think these kids did 20-30 years ago? They brought a book to lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Before you blame FCPS, blame Glenn Youngkin. This was part of his "education reform" -- Fairfax County mamas voted for him because he said he would be focused on education and then he signs things like this, like making SOLs 10% of the grade, making the school send out alerts about drug-related activity, etc., etc....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Great idea. The less they use their devices, the better. It’s a privilege, not a right.

Their lunch is their free time. Teachers are on their phones all fu$king day at school.

How many times do you people have to be told that TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE NOT EQUALS.

Teachers are adults whose frontal lobes are fully developed. Students are children who are still developing the ability to use their brains.

Stop comparing teachers and children.

1) My kid had a teacher under 25 so her frontal lobe wasn't fully developed either.
2) The way you raise functioning humans is to treat them as adults as much and as early as possible. Maybe phones at lunch start at MS or HS and there should be significant consequences for breaking established rules but you don't wake up at 18 or 25 or 30 and just know how to exist in the world. It requires practice.
3) The anger about treating teachers and students as equals seems to be more about teachers not being held above all others than about students being treated like people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is so important during the day that they need their phones. Kids went without phones at school for decades. We all survived.

You must not have high school students. I would have said the same thing a few years ago, but my kids check their phones at the lunch break because their coaches text and message through apps during the day to tell them about practice, bus times for games, changes for weather, changes because of field scheduling issues, etc.
I personally have texted high school babysitters during the day to tell them of changes for the afternoon/evening. Communication has changed dramatically since the 1990s, and expectations of being able to get in touch have as well - for better or worse.

I agree that I don't want my teens on their phones all day and I think it's 100% appropriate to have the phones away during classes, but they should be able to check in during lunch. That's just how the world communicates now.

I guess coaches, bosses, etc. are going to have to get used to this and communicate differently as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

they can read a book. kids do not need to be on phones in school

Books are loaded online on their phones!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is so important during the day that they need their phones. Kids went without phones at school for decades. We all survived.

High schools also had a bank of pay phones you could use. I remember being told to call at lunch on some days to make sure the afterschool schedule was still on.

It can be true that we need to limit cell phones in schools AND accept that they are extremely useful communication devices that make life easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is so important during the day that they need their phones. Kids went without phones at school for decades. We all survived.

You must not have high school students. I would have said the same thing a few years ago, but my kids check their phones at the lunch break because their coaches text and message through apps during the day to tell them about practice, bus times for games, changes for weather, changes because of field scheduling issues, etc.
I personally have texted high school babysitters during the day to tell them of changes for the afternoon/evening. Communication has changed dramatically since the 1990s, and expectations of being able to get in touch have as well - for better or worse.

I agree that I don't want my teens on their phones all day and I think it's 100% appropriate to have the phones away during classes, but they should be able to check in during lunch. That's just how the world communicates now.

I guess coaches, bosses, etc. are going to have to get used to this and communicate differently as well.

Other clubs communicate during day through instagram and texting appa that are blocked/not available to access on laptops. A good change would be for HS to not push instagram as communication tool but ridiculous to say no phones when that’s how majority of clubs and activities are communicating in HS.

[Anonymous]

So more time for vaping!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

they can read a book. kids do not need to be on phones in school

Reading a book isn’t relaxing. It’s also so effing loud in there no one can concentrate. Give me a break.

But watching TikTok on your phone is relaxing? Easy to concentrate on?