VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Thousands of Virginia Beach students returned to classrooms Monday for the start of the 2026-27 school year, but younger students are beginning the year with a noticeable change in how technology will be used during the school day.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools welcomed students back on August 24, joining school divisions across Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina beginning a new academic year. One of the biggest changes involves the district’s Chromebook policy for elementary students.
Under the new approach, students in kindergarten through second grade will no longer have individually assigned Chromebooks. Instead, devices will remain available in classrooms and can be used when teachers determine they are appropriate for a particular lesson or activity.
Students in third through fifth grade will continue having access to individual Chromebooks, but the district is placing additional emphasis on balancing technology with traditional classroom instruction. The changes follow months of discussion among parents, educators and school board members about the amount of screen time younger children experience at school.
The School Board initially considered more extensive restrictions before revising its policy. The final plan allows teachers to continue using digital tools when they support instruction while reducing the expectation that the youngest students regularly rely on personal devices throughout the school day.
The Chromebook debate has included concerns about screen time, childhood development and the role technology should play in early education. Supporters of reducing device use have argued that younger students can benefit from more handwriting, reading from physical materials, face-to-face interaction and hands-on learning.
At the same time, school officials have emphasized that technology remains an important educational resource. Chromebooks will still be available when needed, meaning the new policy represents a reduction in routine use rather than a complete removal of technology from elementary classrooms.
The changes are now moving from months of debate into actual classrooms as students and teachers begin the new school year.
For Virginia Beach families, the first day marks more than the return of classes — it also begins a new experiment in finding the right balance between digital learning and traditional instruction for the district’s youngest students.
No comments