The Legislature passed the bell-to-bell cellphone ban as part of this year’s state budget. It prohibits the use of cellphones, smartwatches, tablets, and other personal devices that can connect to the internet on school grounds during school hours, including periods outside class like lunch and study hall.
As per the law, schools must consult their communities and come up with their own ways to restrict and store smartphones during the day. Hochul, a Democrat, says more than 150 districts have already submitted their plans to the state, ahead of an August 1 deadline.
"I"m real excited about this, because we've had so many stories across the state. Well over a year now, I've been on this journey to talk to teachers, who are so frustrated that they can no longer make that connection, that human connection, because their student is staring at their phone all day," says Hochul.
New York is the most populous state in the U.S. to implement a school cellphone ban. Several districts already practice their own bans. In the weeks leading up to the deadline, Hochul has been hosting roundtables with districts across the state to discuss their ideas.
In New York City, for example, Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos says her district’s plan would allow its roughly 1,800 individual schools to determine the best storage method for them. Some may use communal lockers for phones, or keep them in individual locked pouches made by companies like Yondr.
“Habits are built on day one," says Aviles-Ramos. "And we’re going to be ready on day one.”
Hochul says simply storing students’ phones in their backpacks is not a good enough plan under the law. The state is allocating $13.5 million to help schools adopt their plans.
New York State United Teachers has its own toolkit available for districts. In addition to lockable pouches, the teachers union approves storing students’ phones in a centralized location where students can pick up their phones at the end of each day. NYSUT does not necessarily recommend storing phones at the classroom level or having students keep their phones in their individual lockers, as it can potentially create more work for teachers or lead to students frequently leaving the classroom to secretly check their notifications.
Hochul notes the cellphone ban is going to be an adjustment for some kids. She urges parents to use the remaining weeks of summer to prepare.
“This is gonna be like breaking an addiction. They’re use to having it with them, it’s part of their security blanket," she warns. "And as with someone addicted to cigarettes, when you take them away that day, it’s hard. So, we need to start working the parents now to develop strategies to help wean their children, before the end of summer, from this.”
One concern frequently brought up by parents is how they will contact their children in an emergency.
NYSUT President Melinda Person says there are a lot of ways schools can keep parents in the loop. Gloversville Enlarged School District, for example, has phones that can dial 911 in each classroom, as well as an emergency app for staff and mass alerts for parents.
“What we’re seeing in many districts across the state are things like adding additional landlines, so that parents can call in and reach their children. We heard another district was increasing their ability to do translation when parents who do not speak English as their first language call into a school district," says Person. "So, districts are most definitely making changes to improve access for parents.”
Hochul says the point of the law is to restrict unsanctioned cellphone use, not the use of technology period. For example, she says a lot of schools have Chromebooks for their students, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. She says Chromebooks can be handy for certain lessons and situations, but they should be put away when they’re not actively being used for class.
Person says the goal is to help students stay present and focused on learning, and not on social media.
"This is about restoring the human connection that has gotten lost over the last decade or so, as phones have increasingly gotten into our students' hands," she explains.
