A group of parents is pushing lawmakers to back Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed ban on cellphones in schools – as concerns grow that politicians are getting cold feet over the plan.
The 11th-hour groundswell comes as state lawmakers have made moves to allow local districts to have leeway over the ban, with fears that will mean administrators backing off a full-day prohibition.
“At this critical moment, legislators must not take the wrong path,” the advocates said in a pointed letter to legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
The letter blasted state Assembly and Senate Democrats for separate proposed bills that would give the New York City Public School System and other school districts more latitude instead of a full ban. That could mean phones in between classes — in hallways and during lunch, recess and study periods, advocates warned.
“While a classroom ban — which merely prohibits phones from being used during class time — may appear reasonable in theory, [the Senate and Assembly bills] would make the governor’s proposed policy meaningless,” the letter stated.
“Bell-to-bell policies are crucial because they create lively engagement throughout schools, in hallways, cafeterias, and playgrounds. A classroom ban means that kids will continue to succumb to the lure of their phones and social media when the class bell rings.”
The governor’s plan, included in her executive budget proposal for 2025-26, would require mobile phones be stored away until dismissal. Lawmakers are expected to adopt the 2025-2026 budget by April 1.
The letter was signed by representatives of parents groups, including Parents Collective Inc; Phone Free Action; the Phone Free Schools movement and numerous others.
“While arguments for local control in education are generally compelling, cell phones pose unique problems,” the advocates for phone free schools said. “Research is abundant and clear. Cell phones in schools pose serious threats to our kids’ capacities to learn, mental health, and social development.”
Moreover, unsupervised cell phone use in schools can lead to dangerous, even life-threatening interactions — buying fentanyl-laced drugs, viewing pro-suicide and pro-anorexia content on social media, bullying, online gambling, and solicitations from predators engaged in child sexual abuse and even trafficking, the groups said.
The letter also points to drops in student performance in reading and math following the COVID-19 pandemic as another reason to support a full-day, in-school phone ban.
They also argue that enforcement of barring smart phone access only during class time will be difficult to enforce by forcing “teachers to play phone cop at the top of every class period” by having to police students’ phones.
“By contrast, bell-to-bell policies like Governor Hochul’s take this burden off teachers so they can do their job and not waste valuable instructional time,” the advocates said.
In addition, they insisted a bell-to-bell policy doesn’t bar students from contact with parents.
“Children are neurologically less developed, more impulsive, and more susceptible to addiction than adults. Schools must become places where students learn, free from these powerful and addictive devices. Anything short of that fails our children,” the advocates said.
But Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx), who received the letter from the group, defended his legislation to let schools districts — not Albany — dictate what their smart phone policy should be.
“Schools may want the devices in the classroom for educational reasons,” said Benedetto, a retired school teacher.
He said Hochul’s proposed bell-to-bell phone ban, while well-intentioned, is “totally wrong.”
“Everyone should have a voice — including the students. There are multiple ways to deal with the situation,” the assemblyman said.
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