Cell phones to stay in pouches bell-to-bell in some Arlington schools

ARLINGTON, Va. — As students across Virginia head back to school, there's one item they'll have to leave behind, or at least out of sight, their cell phones.

A law, passed earlier this year , that bans cell phone use in public schools during school hours. But how districts enforce the policy varies and in Arlington, that means locked pouches, in some schools.

Arlington County Public Schools is expanding a pilot program first tested at Wakefield High School, requiring students to secure their phones in locking pouches throughout the school day.

This year, students at Arlington Career Center, H-B Woodlawn, Washington-Liberty, and Yorktown High Schools will join Wakefield in implementing the pouches. At middle schools and other high schools in the district, the pouches will be availabl