After hearing concerns about mid-year rule changes, the Virginia Beach School Board Tuesday unanimously approved a cellphone policy that allows high school students to use their phones during lunch. The vote goes against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s order to ban cellphones during the school day beginning Jan. 1.

Virginia Beach officials said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the General Assembly grants school boards the authority to regulate portable communication devices, whereas the governor’s order is not law.

“The School Board’s definition of instructional time may be inconsistent with the governor’s Executive Order, but it is not out of compliance with applicable law,” the statement reads.

Superintendent Donald Robertson assured the board Tuesday that the division intends to move to a complete ban by the 2025-2026 school year. Robertson said implementing new rules mid-year is always difficult, especially for high school administrators.

“They are incredibly concerned about the number of referrals and what’s going to occur as these kids make these adjustments in the middle of the year,” he said.

This policy allows for time to “wean” students off their lunchtime phone use, he said.

Robertson and many board members support a bell-to-bell ban but said the timing was not right. Virginia Beach was the first division in Hampton Roads to limit cellphone use two years before the state order. But their rules allowed for phone use during breaks and lunch.

Divisions across Virginia have been changing policies after Youngkin issued an executive order in the summer calling for cellphone bans because of distraction issues and mental health concerns. While his order gave a Jan. 1 deadline, final guidance from the Virginia Department of Education was issued in September, after most schools were in session.

Some divisions, including Portsmouth, changed their policies before the school year to avoid mid-year changes.

Hampton schools changed their policy last week to comply with the state. The Norfolk School Board is expected to vote next week. Several board members are concerned about the changes, especially not allowing phones at lunch, but noted that they recognized the need to follow state guidelines.

The Prince William County School Board also voted earlier this month to delay implementation of the ban until August 2025.