Henrico’s Back-to-School Guide: new cell phone rules, screen time limits, staggered start, and more

Henrico Schools will welcome more than 49,000 students on Monday and Tuesday, starting off the school year with a number of new technology restrictions, parent resources, and new facilities.

The division is set to implement several significant policy changes, which – if consistently enforced by schools – will fundamentally change the role of technology in students’ school days. This year is also the first time HCPS has implemented a staggered start, allowing certain students and grade levels to begin school before the entire student population attends.

Cell phone use ban

HCPS officials have committed to enforcing a “bell-to-bell” ban on student cell phone usage starting this school year, with students expected to store their phones away from the time the first bell rings until the dismissal bell – including during lunch and class transitions.

Along with cell phones, students will be expected to store away other smart devices that can connect to the internet and process data, such as tablets, smartwatches, and smart glasses such as Meta glasses. 

Teachers have the option to collect students’ phones at the beginning of each class period and place them in storage containers until the end of class, or allow students to keep their phones in their backpacks. The division has not yet imposed cell phone use restrictions on school buses.

Screen time and technology limits

During the school day, elementary students will have screen time limits enforced on use of their school-issued iPads and Chromebooks, with grades K-2 having a daily maximum of 45-75 minutes and grades 3-5 having a daily maximum of 90 minutes.

Teachers are also prohibited from assigning elementary students any online homework starting this school year, and students will not be able to take their iPads or Chromebooks home with them.

While no screen time limits are proposed at the middle or high school levels, teachers are expected to direct laptop use to be “purposeful and balanced” during class, and students are not allowed to use their laptops during lunch, recess, or class transitions. 

HCPS will also take away YouTube access on school-issued computers for elementary- and middle-schoolers, while high-schoolers will have the “highest instructional restriction setting” for YouTube on their laptops.

This will be the first year HCPS will use a new software program – “Securly Classroom” – to allow teachers to view what students are actively doing on their computers in real time and control what is on their screens. A similar version of the software – “Securly Home” – allows parents to monitor their student’s internet activity and limit screen time after school.

Staggered start

The first day of school for HCPS will now be two first days of school starting this year. On Monday, sixth and ninth graders will attend school without upperclassmen to help students get acclimated to the building. On Tuesday, all middle and high school students will attend.

At the elementary level, students in grades 1-5 will attend on both Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, half of Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students will attend and then have a day off the next day. On Tuesday, the other half of Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students will have their first day (after not attending on Monday).

Each elementary school was allowed to divide Pre-K and Kindergarten students using their own method, with some schools splitting students based on last names, birth months, or enrollment dates. 

The 2026-2027 HCPS calendar provides students with three half-days (Oct. 28, Mar. 26, June 4) and nine student holidays apart from the traditional breaks (Sept. 21 and 28, Nov. 2-3, Nov. 9, Jan. 25, Feb. 15-16, Mar. 10).

Homework limits

Homework will now count as 15% or less of students’ final grades in middle and high school classes, while homework will not be graded at all in elementary school.

New homework time limits will set a daily maximum of 20-60 minutes of homework for elementary students. Middle school courses can assign 20 minutes of homework after each class, while high school or credit-bearing courses can assign 40 minutes after each class. However, time limits may differ for AP and IB courses.

Homework cannot be assigned as a disciplinary consequence, and new make-up work policies will give students the opportunity to complete missed work for full credit regardless of whether the absence was excused or unexcused – as long as the work is completed within a set timeframe.

At the state-level, a new law will require Standards of Learning (SOL) exams, taken annually by students in grades 3-12, to count for 10% of high school students’ final grades. Students will also be restricted to a two-week SOL testing window right before the end of school.

Bus-tracking app

Parents can download the updated Edulog Parent Portal bus tracking app to receive real-time updates on the location of their student’s bus, any delays, and pick-up and drop-off times. Parents will also be able to see when their student boards and departs their bus.

For security, parents will need to input their child’s name, student I.D., school, and date of birth to be able to see bus locations.

New security technology

Students will be expected to wear their student Smart Cards or Smart I.D.s daily for the entire school day in a visible place, which students will use to board their buses, purchase school meals, and check out library books. This year, Smart I.D.s will also be used by school personnel to track attendance and for entry into sporting events. 

Students will receive their Smart I.D.s at the beginning of the school year at no cost to families. Only students’ names, scanning codes, and school branding are visible on the cards.

Starting this year, HCPS will use the Alertus emergency mass notification system for desktop alerts, which can override students’ and teachers’ computer screens with an alert in case of an emergency.

School meal prices

Prices for school breakfasts and lunches will slightly increase from previous years. Student breakfast will now cost $1.75 (previously $1.50) and lunch will cost $3 (previously $2.50). Prices for a la carte items will also be slightly higher than previously.

HCPS has 49 schools that qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), allowing all students at these schools to receive free meals with no need to complete applications. At non-CEP schools, families must complete an income-based application to receive free or reduced-price meals.

New school openings

Students at R.C. Longan Elementary will attend their first days of school at the brand-new two-story building, while students at Jackson Davis Elementary will attend school at the old building until moving into the new campus during the first week of November.

Henrico High will open its new specialty center, the Center for Cybersecurity, this school year, starting with a class of 50 students and then expanding to classes of 75 students next year.

Starting this school year, the Henrico Virtual Academy will no longer provide classes for grades K-2, with families encouraged to either join their home elementary school or pursue other state virtual options. Students in grades 3-12 will continue to attend HVA.

Mental health resources

HCPS will expand its free teletherapy service “Hazel Health” – which is currently only available to high-schoolers – to middle-schoolers this fall. Students can attend up to two months of weekly online therapy sessions through the program.

HCPS will also establish its third in-person mental health team, including a clinician and case manager, at Henrico High. The division already has two mental health team sites at Fairfield Middle and the Campus of Virginia Randolph.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.