WOODBRIDGE, Va. (DC News Now) -- Virginia's new policies restricting cell phones in public schools have been the talk among parents, teachers and students across the commonwealth all school year. On Thursday night, Virginia's First Lady, Suzanne Youngkin, hosted a discussion on the issue in Prince William County, and those in attendance shared their thoughts on the new rules. ‘I’m 100% in favor of kids not having access to cell phones’: VDOE releases new guidelines on cell phone-free education   Youngkin led the discussion with Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. The discussion was held in Woodbridge at Old Bridge Elementary School. However, it was live-streamed and watched at several dozen schools across Virginia simultaneously. "It's always going to be more interesting than the teacher," Haidt said while discussing his views on the importance of cell phone-free schools. The issue at hand, cell phones impacting students' learning and social skills, has been at the forefront in Virginia. "Cell phones are taking over our children's lives and they're just becoming very addicted," Cheryl Long said. VDOE says Virginia schools should ban cell phones ‘bell-to-bell’ "[Students] want to take videos with their friends, so it's really lighthearted, but it can impact the learning environment," Ashli Sims, an elementary school math coach, added. The restrictions appear popular. However, there are some who are unsure if the measures, which many school districts are adopting if they haven't already, are a good idea. "We are allowed to use them at lunch in between periods, which I think is a really good balance," said 9th-grade student, Abigail Norris. That could change if her school district adopts the recently finalized model policies, which would require phones to be put away from bell to bell. "Restricting it anymore would I think push it to where we're fearing it," Norris said. "And I think it needs to be more embraced." Virginia parents react to cellphone-free school policy Asked by Youngkin about the 'bell to bell' policy, Haidt said cell phone-free schools should mean no bells from arrival to dismissal. "A lot of our students are getting 300, 400, 500 notifications a day," he said. "They're getting interrupted every few minutes. They don't know what it is to focus for 10-15 minutes."