WASHINGTON, D.C. – Should phones be banned in school? That’s what New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a few weeks ago. Some states have enacted similar bans in the classroom but not everyone feels it’s necessary.
“As a mom with kids in school I think it’s a very good thing,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D- NY) when asked about her thoughts on the Governor’s proposal. “I think kids should not have cell phones in schools. I also understand as a mom you want your kid to have a cell phone when they’re walking to school, taking the bus, transporting to and from school, to and from a soccer game. That’s fine but when they’re learning those cell phones should be away. They should be in backpacks or lockers they should not be permitted to be used.”
Governor Hochul’s proposal to ban phones during the entire school day including classroom time, lunch and study hall periods.
“I think it’s [phones] a distraction for kids, it’s rotting their brains,” said Sen. Gillibrand. “Even my kids have their own- they call it doomscrolling when you get sucked in to whatever you watch, whether its TikTok or Instagram or Reels and you just keep watching for hours. It is disgraceful, it is harmful, and all of these platforms- their algorithms are based off on how addictive is the content. So, they’re trying to addict our children. They want our children to spend hours and hours – and I’m not saying whether the content is good or bad like funny cat videos are funny, but we need our kids to be learning and they should not be doom scrolling at all during school hours.”
According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study, 72 percent of high school teachers said cellphone distraction is a huge problem in the classroom. According to online data, about eight states have enacted bans. Others, like Michigan, have proposed legislation to restrict cell phones in the classroom. Pennsylvania does not have a ban, but under a pilot program, they offer grant money to schools to buy locking bags for phones.
“Officially Horseheads [Central School District] does not have a policy on phones,” said Dr. Thomas J. Douglas, Superintendent of Horseheads Central School District in New York. “We leave it to the building administrators, the teachers who are professionals in their classrooms and the students to really work together whether it’s educationally or not educationally to develop what works best.”
Dr. Douglas believes this issue should be dealt with at the local level.
“I will tell you the vast majority of our students and staff reply with reasonable requests,” said Dr. Douglas. “Phones should be put away, they should be turned off. You shouldn’t be calling your mom or texting your dad or somebody else in school while you’re in class.”
Under the Governor’s proposal, the state would allocate a couple of million dollars for schools to purchase secure storage measures for the phones and would require schools give parents a way to communicate with their kids if they need to. Dr. Douglas adds that a one-size fits all approach might not work for everyone.
“It’s up to us individually and locally to deal with those distractions and I think our administrators and our staff, our parents and our students do that appropriately,” said Dr. Douglas. “And when there’s a problem, we address it.”
