Gov. Hochul to NY parents concerned over cellphone ban: Time to cut the cord

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Jan 22, 2025

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NEW YORK — New York students may no longer have cellphones with them from “bell to bell” under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed ban, but public schools will still need to find a way to get messages from parents to kids as the governor released more details about her plan Wednesday.

Hochul has been advocating for some version of a ban since last spring amid growing concerns over the mental health of young people and distractions in the classroom.

But the governor conceded her efforts have faced pushback from parents worried about school shootings or who otherwise need to contact their children during regular school hours.

“You’re going to have that access (to your kids),” Hochul said during a launch event for a phone-screen schools campaign at a middle school outside Albany. “But it doesn’t have to be in your hand or in your pocket all day long.”

“It’s time to cut that cord and let our kids be kids.”

“We’ll have a requirement that all the schools have a way that parents can reach their kids and vice versa when it’s necessary. We want our parents involved in this. You know, that’s what every school district has to do.”

The governor’s office released the phone-ban bill a day after Hochul announced her intention to restrict the devices for the entire school day, including during lunch and free periods. She’s proposing an investment of $13.5 million in the state budget to help school districts collect and store the cellphones.

The plan is subject to negotiations with state lawmakers. If passed, each school district must adopt and publish their policies on its website by Aug. 1.

State Sen. Patricia Fahy, an upstate Democrat, who led the Assembly’s higher education committee before recently leaving for the upper chamber, said she plans on working with her colleagues in the Legislature “to get this done this year.”

“I really think we will see different schools will have more students talking to each other,” Fahy said. “And I so look forward to this, and really not a moment to waste, as far as I’m concerned.”

As part of the proposed legislation, schools would have to notify parents in writing how they can reach their children at the beginning of each academic year. The restrictions would apply to any smartphone, tablet or smartwatch, but does not extend to phones without internet capability or devices issued by the school district.

The bill also specifies the rules would extend to charter schools and anywhere on public school grounds — such as sports fields and playgrounds — but include exceptions for students who need the devices for medical reasons, translation services or “in the event of an emergency.”

Still, the governor warned students may actually be safer during some emergencies without their phones.

“If there is a mass casualty event or a shooter on the grounds, the last thing you want to have is your child fumbling for their cellphone,” Hochul said. “That distraction can mean that they’re not safe.”

“I didn’t know that until I heard that from law enforcement, and all of a sudden I realized — a light went off in my head — I said, ‘That’s right,’ and if parents knew that and understood that, they wouldn’t be thinking they need to have this connection all day long.”

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said New York City’s powerful teachers union supports the potential ban with certain protections — including ways for parents to reach students, extra funding, and plans that do not lean too heavily on teachers for enforcement. He also called for uniform disciplinary policies.

The bill directs school districts to publish reports on enforcement every summer, including the demographic data of students who were disciplined for phone-use. Any disparate enforcement would trigger a mitigation action plan.

“The UFT supports a statewide cell phone ban, with safeguards, because educators see the negative impact of cell phones in their classroom every day,” Mulgrew said in a statement. “We believe Governor Hochul understands these concerns.”

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