As students dive into the new school year here at Godwin, new changes and added policies have taken a step further due to regulation and safety reasons.
The main new striking policy is the cell phone ban in public schools across Virginia as well as the new implemented electronic hallway passes. Being yet another hurdle for students and teachers to adjust to, so far there have been mixed feelings since the first day of school.
On July 9, 2024, Executive Order 33, which ordered the Virginia Department of Education to form a policy instituting a school cellphone ban, was issued by Governor Youngkin, sending shockwaves statewide throughout Virginia public schools.
Unfortunately, this is a nonnegotiable law set in place for the 2025-2026 school year. Students not having their phones now for lunch periods and study halls limits our ability to unwind during stressful school days. “I think I should have it during lunch and at common study and things like that because it’s my time,” Godwin junior Ceriyah Jean stated.
“When we see people who are having a hard time, often their phone is their outlet. It’s their coping skill.” according to Kathryn L. Jones, a pediatric psychiatrist with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU in a Channel 6 News article.
Along with the wave of new policies, Godwin and several other schools in Henrico have implemented electronic hallway passes called Securly Pass. Instead of a paper pass, students are now needing to digitally request and then be approved for a hall pass to travel throughout the buillding while being timed. Without needed training or preparation for students, passes have not run smoothly also having the fact that teachers take into account how many times a day you have gone to the restroom looming over students’ heads.
“So I get that they have to track students but, we’ll have to open your computer and stuff just to make a pass to go to the bathroom or go anywhere and it’s kind of a waste of time,” Godwin sophomore Lacyah Stewart remarked. “No, it’s not worth it. It doesn’t make much of a difference, people still skip anywa,.” Godwin freshman Chayton Custalow said to staff interviewers when asked if using Securly is worth going the hassle to combat students skipping classes.
This is supposed to help schools “regain control of student movement,” according to Securly. In other HCPS schools last year, the digital hall pass has caused great discontent with both teachers and students. In the college scene, phone use is not restricted and taken in a caddy. Students are not asking to use the restroom and being monitored. Logically, suppression of phone and normal restroom usage will ultimately backfire for students under these new laws when they eventually move off to college. Psychologically, when something such as phones or hallway traveling privileges are being restricted completely, students tend to want them more, similar to the scarcity experiment: going from constant regulation in high school to barely at all in college and the real world.
One argument for the new Securly Pass is that it will prevent students from skipping class and maximize in-class time. “We want to know if students are skipping. I mean, if you leave class every day, every class, for 10 minutes, either you’re skipping and avoiding class, which is not good,” Godwin psychology teacher Jonathan Sauffley stated. This is a strong argument; however, students are not over-managed like this after high school, they are not forced to follow the rules, they have to choose to.
The disruption to class is a real concern among teachers, as they must approve every pass and passes classes, even when they are in the middle of teaching. Unlike at other schools, where teachers give their students the pin or allow them to start and end their own passes, Godwin requires constant approval and management from teachers.
Students and teachers are generally unhappy with this new system, often expressing their dissatisfaction to students. These new regulations have significantly changed the school environment for the 2025-2026 school year for many adjustments to be made.
