07/13/2026
I want to thank our school board for passing two very important policies on Thursday, July 9, 2026, that I introduced: the anti-retaliation policy and a policy reducing the amount of screen time that our children are exposed to at school. The fact that these two policies were passed unanimously demonstrates the importance that we all place in these two issues.
This board strongly agrees that there is no place for unjust retaliation against teachers or staff and is committed to ensuring that such retaliation does not happen. This is still a work in progress, as we are committed to providing for a process that allows our staff to speak out without the fear that they will be retaliated against.
The second, though equally important issue is the amount of screen time that our students have been increasingly subjected to. While we all agree that there is a place for technology as a resource supplementing education when needed, it should never take the place of personal instruction or our children learning to read, write, and analyze problems on their own. This is particularly true of the younger, formative years when technology has been shown to have an adverse effect on children all around the world. Shenandoah County is committed to leading in this movement, along with the many school districts around the nation that are also taking steps to reverse this trend of technological dependency.
Finally, I want to also thank our school board attorney, Mr. Brandon Butler, for helping us draft these policies, and to Chairman Larry Vance and Vice-chairwoman Whitney Pence for their excellent leadership in moving this through.
The local newspaper had a nice article on these policies, and it is reproduced below.
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NORTHERN VIRGINIA DAILY
School board adopts classroom screen-use, anti-retaliation policies
By Ryan Fitzmaurice
July 10, 2026
Shenandoah County schools will scale back classroom screen use under a new policy approved Thursday by the county school board, shifting away from computers as a default tool for instruction. A second policy, also approved Thursday, establishes a divisionwide process for investigating retaliation complaints made by employees, students, parents and others in the school community.
The board approved both policies 6-0.
Also at the meeting, board members received preliminary school performance scores showing gains at all but one of the division’s schools. The results have not been finalized by the state.
Digital
The Instructional Use of Digital and Print Materials policy sets expectations for each grade range. Instruction in kindergarten through second grade should be print-rich, hands-on and directed by a teacher. Screen use should be brief and tied to a specific educational need. Students in grades three through eight may use digital tools, but teachers should regularly use printed texts, handwriting, physical materials and discussion rather than making screens the default.
The policy leaves more flexibility in high school for advanced classes, career and technical education, dual enrollment, research and industry software. It does not set daily or weekly screen-time limits.
Board member Gloria Carlineo, who worked with the board’s attorney to develop the policy, said students had asked for more direct interaction.
“Even during our mental health task force, we heard from the students from all the different high schools here in Shenandoah County,” Carlineo said. “They want to have more interaction with the teachers. They want to have more interaction with the students. They want less computers and they want to be able to learn more.”
The policy does not eliminate Chromebooks. Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Jennifer Proctor said elementary students will have access to classroom sets when needed. Middle school students will no longer take Chromebooks home. The computers will remain stored in classroom carts when they are not in use. High school students will continue to receive individual Chromebooks and take them home.
“We’re not completely getting rid of the Chromebooks or the computers,” Carlineo said. “We are just starting to scale back on that.”
The policy preserves access to assistive technology, online assessments and digital resources required by individualized education programs, Section 504 plans, health plans and English learner plans.
Chairman Larry Vance pointed to one paragraph as the center of the policy. “Digital instruction should not be used merely as a convenience, reward, filler activity, substitute for lesson planning, or default replacement for physical instructional materials,” the policy states. “When teachers use screen-based resources, the use should be connected to a stated instructional purpose.”
“That’s a strong paragraph,” Vance said. “I like that.”
Retaliation
The anti-retaliation policy protects people who make good-faith reports of discrimination, harassment, bullying, abuse, fraud, waste, safety concerns, workplace misconduct or violations of law or School Board policy. It applies to employees, former employees, job applicants, students, parents, volunteers, contractors and other members of the school community. A report remains protected even if the allegation is not substantiated.
Retaliation may include termination, demotion, nonrenewal, reduced pay, unfavorable reassignment, unwarranted discipline, intimidation, exclusion or interference with future employment. The policy does not prevent the division from taking disciplinary or employment action for legitimate reasons unrelated to a complaint.
Carlineo said concerns about retaliation had been raised before she joined the board. She heard from teachers while campaigning who had left the division or chosen to work elsewhere.
“This has been one issue that I know I’m not the only school board member that has been receiving a lot of complaints and a lot of concerns about,” Carlineo said.
The policy was less stringent than the version she first proposed, Carlineo said. She and the board’s attorney exchanged several drafts.
“I think what we need to do is at least pass this so that we can have something before the beginning of the year so that our principals, our administrators and all of our people know what the expectation is” Carlineo said.
A person should ordinarily report retaliation within 30 calendar days. Complaints may be made verbally or in writing to a principal, supervisor, department head, Human Resources, the superintendent or another designated official. The complaint must be forwarded within two business days. The division must determine within five business days who will handle it.
Investigations should ordinarily be completed within 30 days. The policy allows extensions for factors such as witness availability, school closures, complex allegations, outside investigations or related legal proceedings, but says cases should generally be completed within 60 days.
Complaints involving the superintendent, Human Resources or another senior administrator are to be sent to the School Board’s attorney for a conflict review.
Board member L.M. “Mike” Scheibe II said the policy still did not clearly explain where an employee should go when the person accused was among the officials responsible for receiving complaints.
“It does not give an employee a clear path if one of those people are actually the person that they have an issue with,” Scheibe said.
Carlineo said board counsel had been discussed as an option. Her concern was whether employees would know it existed. She suggested Human Resources could provide employees with a document explaining the available reporting routes. Board members said they could amend the policy after seeing how it works.
“I would welcome the opportunity to maybe in the future take a look at this, see how it’s working and whether we need to tweak it,” Carlineo said.
Scores
The division’s preliminary results placed all three high schools in the state’s “distinguished” category.
Strasburg High School received 106 points, Stonewall Jackson High School received 101 and Central High School received 92.
Schools with at least 90 points are distinguished. Scores from 80 through 89 are considered on track, while scores from 65 through 79 are off track.
Strasburg and Stonewall Jackson gained points from last year's score. Central fell three points, the only school to not increase its score this year, but remained above the distinguished threshold.
Proctor said Central’s score was affected by the number of parents who opted their children out of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB. Nearly all students take the test at Strasburg and Stonewall Jackson, she said.
“So 10 kids not taking that test can have a pretty big impact on that score,” Proctor said.
Peter Muhlenberg Middle School moved into the distinguished category with 90.5 points.
North Fork Middle School received 88.7 points and Signal K**b Middle School received 84.8, placing both on track.
Sandy Hook and W.W. Robinson elementary schools moved from off track to on track, though additional state information could alter their final designations.
Ashby Lee Elementary School remained off track with 79.1 points, nine-tenths of a point below the on-track threshold. Despite being off-track, the school saw a 4.14 jump in its score from last year, the second largest increase in the division.
Proctor said the final results may arrive in September or October, but she does not anticipate those final scores shifting much.
“Overall, we’re very happy with where we ended up,” Proctor said. “We would like to see our mastery scores, of course, continue to grow.”
https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/school-board-adopts-classroom-screen-use-anti-retaliation-policies/article_480fc609-11dc-5339-818a-f02ea5fa27f4.html
