Charles City Public Schools adopts cell phone policy

Charles City County Public Schools have elected to follow guidance of the Virginia Department of Education to have cell phones and personal communication devices silenced through the day.

School board members voted to approve the policy at Tuesday night’s school board meeting. According to the policy, students must have cell phones off and away during the instructional day starting Jan. 1. Students may not use the phones during the transition of classes or at lunch periods, which is the current practice.

Superintendent of Schools Dalphine Joppy indicated that the policy follows a directive from Gov. Glenn Youngkin and that resources will be used to help implement the transition into the new policy for students. Joppy said in the case during an extreme emergency, phones can be used by students to contact parents, but day-to-day contact by parents should be main through the main office.