Virginia Beach school board tightens Chromebook rules for 2026-27

Virginia Beach City Public Schools now has a revised Chromebook policy for the 2026-27 school year after the School Board voted June 26 to make the rules more restrictive for younger students.

Under Policy 6-18, Chromebooks or similar devices will not be used in Pre-Kindergarten through kindergarten classrooms. First-grade classrooms will be limited to 10 issued devices. Second grade will remain 1-to-1, but devices generally will stay at school and can go home only if the district needs to shift for severe weather or another emergency. Students in grades 3 through 5 will keep 1-to-1 devices and may take them home.

What changed

WHRO reported that the board brought the policy back after two members said they were confused about what they had voted on earlier in June. The June 26 vote replaced the earlier version with a more restrictive one.

Why it matters

The policy affects how much younger students use school devices in class and whether those devices can travel between school and home. It also directs the superintendent or a designee to provide an annual report and presentation on student screen time, including grade-level data, trends over time, and plans to reduce screen exposure.

For families, the main takeaway is simple: the rules for the fall are now more specific, and parents should use the district’s current policy language rather than the earlier June version.

Sources

• WHRO: Virginia Beach school board changes screen time policy two weeks after creating it
• Virginia Beach School Board Policy 6-18