Well-Being and Mental Health
Governor Youngkin has taken significant steps to enhance the educational environment, bolster mental health services, and support student wellbeing. These efforts have placed Virginia at the forefront of the nation in cell phone-free education and reduction in overdose deaths, vastly expanded mental health resources and supports for students, and increased access to telehealth services.
Executive Order 33 Establishing Cell Phone-Free Education
On July 9, 2023, Governor Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 Establishing Cell Phone-Free Education in Virginia's K-12 Public Schools. Recognizing the severe mental health effects that social media and cell phone use have on our students, Governor Youngkin tasked the Virginia Department of Education with releasing guidance on how to implement bell-to-bell cell phone-free education in our schools. This year, after recognizing the success of Executive Order 33, the General Assembly passed and Governor Youngkin passed into law SB738 to codify Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone-Free Education in all Virginia public schools.
Virginia is now leading the charge across the nation, creating meaningful change for other states and ensuring that Virginia education is distraction-free and conducive to students' mental health and well-being.
Moving Forward
The National Bureau of Economic Research published a study by David Figlio and Umut Ozek called The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida. The study provides causal evidence on the effects of a 2023-enacted cellphone ban in a large Florida urban school district (LUSD). Year 1 featured a difficult “adjustment period,” but in Year 2 there were significant improvements in student test scores and reductions in unexcused absences. Positive impacts of the cell phone ban were most pronounced in middle and high schools. This study offers critical insights for Virginia, providing the first strong causal evidence of a U.S. school-level ban's effects. Because Virginia already has a school-level cellphone ban, this study validates its long-term rationale.
Governor Youngkin’s Summit on Mental Health
Beyond K-12 policy, Governor Youngkin has prioritized mental health efforts throughout the higher education system in Virginia. In 2022, Virginia hosted its first youth mental health summit at the College of William and Mary, bringing together hundreds of administrators and health professionals throughout the Commonwealth to discuss the current mental health challenges and the next steps in nurturing wellness on our campuses. This summit helped to inform the work of the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources and has played a key role in shaping higher education wellness efforts.
SCHEV Mental Health Pilot
Also in 2022, Governor Youngkin and the General Assembly appropriated $1,000,000 across FY23-24 to expand mental health services on campus and simultaneously increase the mental health workforce pipeline by offering supervised clinical hours for candidates working towards becoming licensed clinical social workers or licensed professional counselors. The two-pronged purpose addresses immediate student demand for mental health services and long-term behavioral health workforce development. Individual grant awards ranged from $66,000 to $100,000 and were awarded to Christopher Newport, James Madison, George Mason, Longwood, Radford, and Virginia Tech to support the salaries and benefits for graduates pursuing licensure, who will provide therapy under supervision at student health centers on campus. To date, the pilot has supported 11 Licensed Professional Counselor/Licensed Clinical Social Worker candidates who collectively served 1,446 students, completed more than 8,750 clinical hours, and obtained 16,055 hours of supervision – approximately doubling the students served and the number of clinical hours from 2024.
National Governor’s Association Policy Academy to Drive Thriving Youth
Virginia applied for and was selected as one of six states to participate in the National Governors Association (NGA) Policy Academy to Drive Thriving Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing. In partnership with the NGA, Virginia is building a comprehensive system of care that prioritizes resilience and well-being, fostering a culture of prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery. Virginia’s acceptance into this program highlighted the successes of the Right Help, Right Now initiative, which forms the basis for targeted initiatives, task forces, and executive actions. The initial focus was on crisis infrastructure development and implementation plans involving over 125 state employees from various secretariats and agencies. There is a planned investment of nearly $1.4 billion over 3 years to transform the behavioral health system. With this groundwork now in place, year two will concentrate on youth behavioral health needs. This plan aims to set a long-term vision for the Commonwealth, putting in place long lasting and meaningful changes to shift support further upstream in the development of behavioral health conditions.
Office of Behavioral Health and Student Safety
In 2024, VDOE created the Office of Behavioral Health and Wellness (now the Office of Behavioral Health and Student Safety) to expand school-based mental health services and provide training for educators and staff to better identify and address mental health concerns among students.
Overdose Response and Prevention Policies
Since Day One, Governor Youngkin has prioritized combatting the fentanyl crisis across the Commonwealth, especially in schools. In October 2023, there were nine documented cases of opioid-related drug overdoses involving students at Loudoun County Public Schools, reflecting a broader issue with more than 19 juvenile opioid overdoses in Loudoun County in 2023 -- in response, Governor Youngkin signed Executive Order 28 directing the Virginia Department of Education to issue guidance for the response and parental notification of any school-connected overdose.
Building off the early success of Executive Order 28, the General Assembly passed and Governor Youngkin signed SB 498 and HB 1504 providing supplemental policy support for implementation to further assist school boards. VDOE posted draft guidance to comply with SB498 in December 2024 along with a list of opportunities for stakeholders to provide feedback during virtual listening sessions, culminating in nearly three months of public comment and listening sessions.
This year, the General Assembly and Governor Youngkin continued to build on these successes, codifying SB1240 and HB2774, requiring public school principals and heads of private schools in the Commonwealth to report certain information to the parents of enrolled students within 24 hours of a confirmed or suspected school-connected overdose.
Tracking School Division Implementation of Cell Phone-Free Education
The following table outlines the school divisions, by region, that have implemented a bell-to-bell cell phone policy as of October 16, 2025. There are 128 divisions confirmed to have a bell-to-bell policy implemented, 2 that are pending confirmation, and 1 that has confirmed that they do not have one implemented at this time. VDOE will continue to work with school divisions as needed and monitor this data on a weekly basis until 100% implementation is achieved.
| Yes | No | Pending | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Region 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Region 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Region 4 | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| Region 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Region 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Region 7 | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| Region 8 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 128 | 0 | 3 |