New York could restrict cellphone use in schools under new bill

New York’s Staten Island. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Monday that a ban on cell phones may soon be implemented for all students in the state.

The governor said that she would include legislation restricting the use of cellphones by kindergarten through 12th graders in her Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2026.

I have to assist you all because you are under a lot of pressure. During a fireside talk with hundreds of high school and community college students, she declared, “That’s my job.”

The declaration was made in response to Hochul’s legislative move to protect children on social media, but it contained no further details about what would be covered by the legislation.

According to The New York Times, it would make New York the next state to outlaw cell phones in schools. According to the news source, Minnesota, Virginia, and Ohio have also taken tough measures against cellphones, and Los Angeles Unified became the biggest school district in the US to do so last school year.

Additionally, New York City had been considering banning cellphones from public schools. The potential regulation, which may take effect beginning in early 2025, was explained to a number of public school principals in July.

However, according to The Times, a month later, Mayor Eric Adams said the city wasn’t yet ready to implement a cellphone ban in schools.

With exceptions permitted for educational objectives and student health and safety concerns, the state teachers’ organization, New York State United Teachers, stated that it wishes to see a bell-to-bell policy that would ban cellphone use from the start of classes until the end of the day.

These limitations would be created locally, taking into account different ways for parents and caregivers to communicate.

The New York Times was informed by a representative of the United Federation of Teachers, the teachers’ union in New York City, that the organization was in favor of cellphone bans in public schools, if certain requirements were fulfilled.

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