On July 9, 2025, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued a new executive order to help schools in Virginia be phone free for students. Virginia schools had time to prepare for it by Jan. 1, 2026; Briar Woods High School (BWHS) being among them. This order is known as the “Bell-to-Bell” policy, indicating that all personal and internet connected devices such as cell phones, smartwatches, tablets and personal laptops are banned from the first bell to the last bell.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) says they have done this “to help parents, teachers, and students better understand the effects of cell phone and social media usage on our children” due to “the mental health effects on children and the impact student‘s dependence on cell phones are having in our schools.”
Unfortunately, most students at BWHS don’t agree with the “Bell-to-Bell” policy. A group of freshmen brought inflated balloons to BWHS to protest against the new policy. The balloons were passed out to other students, most of them weren’t aware of the protest until the balloons were confiscated. Naturally just bringing balloons to school didn’t do anything to change the policy.
“I don’t think it’s [“Bell-to-Bell” policy] reasonable,” said an anonymous student at BWHS, “Briar Woods had a good policy in place where we have to put our phones in the pockets, like the phone holders, before class starts” our anonymous source said.
“Phones have been a very big culture change that people in the workforce use them now,” said Kaitlyn Russell, a BWHS sophomore. Russell‘s further point is if phones are adapted in the daily life of a working adult then it is the same for students. Both use cell phones for their work and as a pastime.
Then again, most adults we know have grown up without the internet. These adults reminisce about their childhood by thinking about the many outdoor or indoor activities they had played. The Governor, VDOE, parents and teachers may also want us to experience this childhood, hence issuing “Bell-to-Bell”.
Some students are perplexed about their stand in the “Bell-to-Bell” policy. BWHS’ sophomore, Afra Matin stated that ¨I‘m really not sure how to feel about it [new phone policy]. I don‘t think it‘s really that much reasonable though because we are not allowed to use it during lunches.”
While students bring up their points, teachers also have their opinions on the new policy. “I feel like the previous phone policy could have worked if we all just stayed on board,” said Nigel Tangredi, the chorus teacher of BWHS. “I think the phone policy of having phones during class is completely reasonable. I feel like having them [phones away] all times during the school is unrealistic,” said Tangredi.
When asked if this policy impacts his classes, Tangredi responded saying “When the first phone policy came in, things moved a lot faster, like we were getting a lot of work done. As the phones creeped in more and more, class didn’t move as fast and things weren’t getting done as quickly.”
As BWHS continues to implement “Bell-to-Bell,” students try to adapt to the new school policy. Instead of carrying bluetooth headphones, they carry wired headphones; instead of using a personal laptop, they carry school-issued chromebooks. It’s not just BWHS, the entirety of Virginia public schools is now following this policy.
