New York City plans cellphone ban in schools

NEW YORK — The nation’s largest school system on Wednesday said it is planning to prohibit cellphone use during the school day, a major policy shift that comes as the Biden administration issues new warnings about the threat social media poses to children.

New York City Public Schools will announce the rules early next month, Chancellor David Banks said, responding to widespread concern about youth mental health.

He said the district, which is controlled by Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, consulted medical doctors as it developed the ban. It will affect about 915,000 students.

"Our kids are fully addicted to these phones," Banks said in an interview on NY1. "We've got to do something about it."

Why it matters: The ban in New York City comes amid a nationwide movement to curb phone use in schools and growing worry about how smartphones are affecting children today.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote in a New York Times op-ed last week that social media is so harmful to kids, Congress should force apps to include warning labels, just like those required on cigarettes and alcohol.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, vowed last week to limit the use of smartphones during the school day. The school board in Los Angeles — the second biggest school district in the country — also recently approved restrictions that will go into effect in January. And in Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed a similar measure into law.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — a Democrat who recently signed a bill that would require social media platforms to turn off personalized recommendation systems for pupils — is also planning to propose legislation that would prohibit smartphones in schools statewide.

The details: In New York City, the district is trying to navigate worry from some parents that cellphone restrictions will make it more difficult for them to reach their children.

Banks said the new rules would allow students to bring their devices to school, but they will be off limits during school hours.

“We want you to be able to bring your phone to school because the minute that school is over, you need to be in communication with your family," he said.

The move will be a significant departure from current practice, which allows individual school principals to come up with their own policies. Schools have employed different approaches — some collecting phones at the start of the day or making pupils put their devices in lockable pouches.

In 2015, then Mayor Bill de Blasio scrapped a citywide school phone ban instituted by his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. At the time, he dismissed it as an unfair practice given that it was primarily enforced at schools with metal detectors in low-income communities. Banks said the new program would not pass on any costs to students.

“We don’t want kids to have to pay a dollar to leave their phone in a bodega across the street,” he said.

What’s next: Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, urged the city to take a step back and assess the best way to tackle the issue.

“If you talk to any individual teachers, they will say, 'get rid of cell phones in the classroom,'” Mulgrew said in a statement. “We need to workshop the issue this summer to get a broader take from our membership, about what works and doesn’t from schools that already collect cell phones.”