Why NY’s New School Cellphone Ban Will Harm Students 

As New York’s K-12 students head back to school this fall, there’s one more summertime freedom they’ll have to say goodbye to: access to their phones.

This May, the governor signed into law a “bell-to-bell” cellphone ban, making New York the largest state in the nation to enact such a sweeping prohibition. The law requires that every school in the state develop a plan for storing students’ phones throughout the school day, including lunch and study hall periods.

The goal of the ban, “distraction-free learning,” is laudable, and one educators and parents support. But the ban’s implementation promises to be full of discipline, bringing harm to our most vulnerable students in the form of searches, surveillance and contact with the criminal legal system.And while the law claims to protect students’ mental health – from the dangers of addictive scrolling – it gives schools money for “solutions” like cellphone storage pouches (which kids have already figured out how to hack) and not the social workers, counselors and psychologists that could actually offer students the mental health support they need.

Here’s an explainer with a full list of the reasons the NYCLU opposes the cellphone ban.

 

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A regulation that is going to land more kids in the principal’s office, or at home on suspension, doesn’t truly support their learning or their mental health.

A blanket cellphone ban is a misguided attempt to impose a punitive solution to a complex issue that schools could best address individually, keeping in mind the unique needs of their students.