Four Arlington schools will be distributing cellphone storage pouches to students this year as part of an effort to restrict mobile phone use on campus.
The pilot program will kick off in mid-September at Wakefield High School, H-B Woodlawn (middle school only), Swanson Middle School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, APS announced in an email to parents Thursday.
The school system plans to “provide students at participating schools with a secure, personally assigned pouch to safely store their phones during the school day.”
“APS is working in close partnership with the leadership teams of the participating schools to finalize logistics and other details to ensure a successful rollout for all students, staff and families,” the email says. “Additional information will be shared with pilot schools in the first week of September.”
In a similar program at Fairfax County Public Schools, students are expected to receive Yondr pouches, which come with a magnetic locking device. Students must place their phones in the pouch upon arriving at school, and they can only be unlocked at designated stations at the end of the school day, FFXnow reported.
APS does not yet have an estimate on how much this program will cost, spokesperson Frank Bellavia told ARLnow. In Fairfax County, the replacement fee for a lost or damaged pouch is $18.
This move follows the adoption of new cellphone rules at APS following a unanimous Arlington School Board vote last week. When students return to school this coming Monday, Aug. 26, high schoolers will be required to turn their cellphones off during class, while elementary and middle school students will have to keep them off for the entire day.
This is a temporary policy, with a permanent policy expected in December following a public comment period.
The School Board’s vote came the day after the Commonwealth issued new draft guidance for “cell phone-free education.”
If the proposed guidelines are adopted next month, Virginia public school students in all grade levels will have to keep cellphones off and away during the entire school day. New school district policies would have to go into effect by Jan. 1, 2025.
The APS webpage lists the following consequences for violations of the new cellphone policy.
School staff shall first request that a student turn off and put away their personal devices, including cellphones. If a student complies, no further action is needed.
If a student does not comply or must be requested to turn off and put away their device either multiple times within one class period or consistently across multiple class periods, the teacher or instructional staff may make a referral to the appropriate administrator in the student information system.
The administrator will respond to the referral in alignment with Arlington Public Schools Code of Conduct procedures. In alignment with those procedures, the device may be confiscated by an administrator who will request that the parent/guardian come in to collect the device and have a discussion about the student’s noncompliance.
If noncompliance continues, progressive measures of discipline will be used as alternatives to suspension to the maximum extent possible in consultation with the Director of School Climate & Culture or designee.
