Rep. Eugene Vindman has introduced legislation that mandates classrooms across the country become cellphone-free.
Vindman, whose 7th District includes the Fredericksburg area, submitted a bill Monday that requires state educational agencies to implement policies prohibiting the use or possession of personal mobile phones by students in public school classrooms during school hours.
The legislation doesn’t specify how the schools need to accomplish this goal, and it recommends that phones remain in students’ possession.
“It’s past time we restore quality education across our country,” Vindman said in a statement to the Free Press on Thursday. “One way we do that is with phone-free classrooms.”
Vindman held a roundtable discussion March 29 in Fredericksburg with parents, educators and local elected officials about the need to get phones out of the classroom.
“After hearing encouraging stories from Superintendent Dr. Marceline Catlett, teachers and parents at this roundtable, I introduced the UNPLUGGED Act as a bold step to get phones out of the classroom and ensure our kids attention in school is focused on learning, growing and connecting — not scrolling,” the congressman said in the statement.
The issue is a bipartisan one, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin in July issued an executive order calling for cellphone-free education in Virginia.
Vindman, a Democrat, hasn’t talked to the Republican governor about his bill, but he would be open to such a conversation, said the congressman’s spokeswoman, Amanda Farnan.
She also said the cellphone bill doesn’t have any cosponsors but that there has been anecdotal interest from Republicans — noting that this is an issue where the parties can agree.
Virginia is one of nine states that have implemented phone-free policies, an announcement of Vindman’s bill said. This past July, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33, requiring school divisions in the Commonwealth to adopt cell phone-free policies by Jan. 1, 2025.
“Phone-free classrooms are already working in Virginia and other states,” the lawmaker said. “It’s time we help every school do the same.”
The federal legislation has drawn praise from at least two Fredericksburg-area school superintendents.
Catlett, who leads the Fredericksburg schools, said she has seen firsthand the transformative impact of the city’s phone-free learning environments.
“When we removed cellphones from the school day, we saw an immediate improvement in academic focus, student engagement and peer interaction,” she said in the announcement of the bill. “The UNPLUGGED Act is a bold and necessary step to reclaim our classrooms as spaces of learning, growth and connection. I wholeheartedly support the legislation and commend Congressman Vindman for prioritizing what is best for students and educators.”
Similar sentiments came from Stafford Superintendent Daniel Smith.
“Stafford County Public Schools has seen significant improvements in student mental health, attendance and discipline since implementing our ‘Off and Away’ policy,” Smith said in the announcement. “We fully support the UNPLUGGED Act and its positive impact on students nationwide.”
Vindman’s work also was endorsed by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation.” He is the leading expert on the positive impacts of phone-free classrooms, the congressman’s office said.
“No other policy change would confer as big and as rapid a benefit to American schools as freeing students from the constant distractions of the buzzing phones in their pockets,” Haidt said in the bill’s announcement. “To support kids’ mental health, educational success and ability to pay attention — all schools in America should go bell-to-bell phone-free. Schools that go phone-free almost always report increased student engagement, decreased disciplinary problems and, most touchingly, teachers say that they hear laughter in the hallways again.”
