Virginia Senate Bill 738

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: Introduced on September 18 2024 - 25% progression
Action: 2025-01-06 - Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738)
Text: Latest bill text (Prefiled) [HTML]

Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; student cell phone possession and use policies; development and implementation. Directs each school board to develop and each public elementary and secondary school to implement age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate policies relating to the possession and use of cell phones by students on school property during regular school hours. The bill requires such policies to (i) restrict, to the fullest extent possible, student cell phone possession and use in the classroom during regular school hours; (ii) aim to reduce or prevent any distraction in or disruption to the learning environment, including bullying or harassment, that could be caused or facilitated by student cell phone possession and use on school property during regular school hours; (iii) ensure that implementation and enforcement of the policy is the responsibility of the administration, minimizes, to the extent possible, any conflict with the instructional responsibilities of teachers or any disruption to instructional time, and does not involve any school resource officer; (iv) include exceptions to such policies permitting any student, pursuant to an Individualized Education Plan or Section 504 Plan or if otherwise deemed appropriate by the school board, to possess and use a cell phone on school property, including in the classroom, during regular school hours to monitor or address a health concern; and (v) expressly prohibit any student from being suspended, expelled, or removed from class as a consequence of any violation of such policies. Finally, the bill clarifies that (a) no violation of any such student cell phone possession and use policy shall alone constitute (1) sufficient cause for a student's suspension or expulsion from attendance at school or (2) disruptive behavior authorizing a teacher to remove a student from class and (b) that any such violation that involves, coincides with, or results in an instance of disruptive behavior, as that term is defined in applicable law, shall be addressed in accordance with the regulations on codes of student conduct adopted by each school board pursuant to applicable law.

Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline; student cell phone possession and use policies; development and implementation.

Sen. Stella Pekarsky [D]	Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg [D]	Sen. Ghazala Hashmi [D]	Sen. Lashrecse Aird [D]
Sen. Lamont Bagby [D]

Date	Chamber	Action
2025-01-06	Senate	Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738)
2024-09-18	Senate	Introduced bill reprinted 25100096D
2024-09-18	Senate	Referred to Committee on Education and Health
2024-09-18	Senate	Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25100096D

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
22	1	277	(n/a)	See Bill Text
22	1	79.3:1	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB738
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB738/text/SB738
Supplement	https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012851.PDF