ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – Rockingham County Public Schools will restrict the use of flags and decorations and ban the use of cell phones and personal electronic devices for students beginning this school year.
The county school board voted unanimously Tuesday night — with Council Member Jackie Lohr absent — to adopt the policies at its first meeting of the 2024-2025 school year, nearly a week before students return to classrooms. Both rules were introduced earlier this summer, with the cell phone policy receiving widespread support from parents and teachers.
While all middle and elementary schools in Rockingham County previously had an “off and away” policy, the amended policy now extends it to high schools as well. School board member Sarah Horst said that while the policy will not be popular with students, she believes a cellphone-free school day is in their best interest.
“Whether a student sees it that way or not, my vote tonight is a gift,” Horst said. “It’s a gift of hours of cellphone-free time during the day. I was given that gift 25 years ago and I want it for my son, I want it for all of our children and I want it for our teachers too. I think it will make our academic environment so much more productive and better.”
The flag and decoration policy, on the other hand, met with a rather mixed response.
The policy prohibits the display of any flags on school property other than those approved for display by RCPS. This includes flags of the United States, Virginia and other states, local government, military, public schools and sports teams.
The policy also allows flags of countries recognized by the United States, but only temporarily for school events, curricular instruction or in certain areas within schools and with size restrictions. It also requires that the U.S. flag be prominently displayed in the entryway of all school campuses in Rockingham County.
Several people – most of them RCPS teachers – spoke out against the flag policy during the public hearing earlier in the meeting. Courtney French, who teaches English, told the board that the policy conflicts with her duty as a teacher to ensure that all students feel safe in the county’s schools.
“If you take away our ability to display our welcome banners, you are creating the impression that not everyone is welcome here,” French said. “Is that the example we want to set for our children?”
Chairman Matt Cross addressed these concerns before the vote.
“I’m sad that we have to have a flag policy because we live in a generation that has so many issues,” Cross said. “I mean, every issue you can think of is tied to a flag.”
He added that while he respects all students in the county’s schools, the goal of the rule is to ensure that the U.S. flag is visible to all students first and foremost.
“When our children walk into our classrooms and schools, we want them to see the American flag in the most important places,” Cross said. “Because it is the American taxpayers who send all of our children to school, who pay our teachers’ salaries, who provide heat and air conditioning, and who provide the multimillion-dollar buildings in our community that all students can attend.”
It is similar to a similar policy recently adopted by the Shenandoah County School Board.
