Adding to a growing list of school districts that prohibit cell phones, the largest in the country, in New York, is set to do the same starting in January.
The use of phones in classrooms has become not just a distraction but an addiction, said David Banks, chancellor of the New York City Public Schools, during an interview.
The chancellor said he hopes a formal announcement will be made once he defines how to implement a plan that will impact more than 1 million students in nearly 2,000 public schools in the city.
The decision in New York comes shortly after the Los Angeles Unified School District’s decision to ban cell phones in schools last week.
The changes in two of the largest school districts in the country highlight a frustration shared by educators coast to coast. In the United States, 72% of high school teachers said that cell phone distraction is “a big problem in the classroom,” according to a report from the Pew Research Center.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering state-level action on the issue of cell phones in schools, according to a spokesperson.
States such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Vermont, Ohio, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania have introduced similar legislation.
Some parents, however, disagree with the idea. They believe the ban will prevent them from keeping in touch with their children during an emergency.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio allowed phones back in schools in 2015 after they were banned by his predecessor in office, Mike Bloomberg.
Bloomberg wrote an op-ed on Tuesday with the headline: “Adams should restore the old ban on cell phones in New York schools – for the sake of our children.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams supports the change.
“The distractions that come from cell phones are serious and we cannot ignore that,” Adams said during a press conference on Tuesday (25). The Mayor’s Office is looking for a “sweet spot” to “leave parents in a comfortable place,” he said.
Source: CNN