Parents Push Back Against Nyc's Controversial Cellphone Ban in Schools

Parents are pushing back against New York City's controversial cellphone ban in schools, with many families saying they are "not going to work."

The bell-to-bell cellphone ban greeted returning students, who number roughly 1 million, for the first time as they came back to school on Tuesday. Many parents and children shared mixed feelings about the new rule.

NYC's Controversial Phone Ban

Many students have already shared various ways that some of them have taken to work around the ban, posting and sharing hacks on TikTok by the end of the school day. Some institutions are also struggling to manage the logistical nightmare of taking the students' phones or storing them in pouches.

One 11-year-old student at JHS 217 in Queens said that they told her the school did not have a pouch or a magnet for her phone. She revealed that the school said they would be getting the items on Monday, according to the New York Post.

The student shared how happy she was after hearing what had happened, noting that she would have another week to use her phone because she did not like the school taking it away. The situation comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the controversial ban its subsequent approval by the city's Panel for Education Policy.

Lawmakers enacted the new rule amid growing concerns that distraction-causing mobile devices are harming students' mental health and could result in stalled academic performance. The governor touted the ban, saying that kids will become smarter because they will pay more attention in school.

Hochul also said that she was very excited about the new policy, arguing that for too long now, students have sat in schools with mobile devices in their hands. She argued that many of them spent a lot of time distracted while looking at "TikTok dance videos," CBS News reported.

Addressing Distraction in Classrooms

Every single school will be responsible for implementing its own policy on where and how it stores the mobile devices taken from students. Options include lockers, cubbies, or lockable pouches.

The Department of Education previously said that roughly 820 schools opted to use pouches to store mobile devices, 600 used storage bins or boxes, and 550 decided to use classroom lockers.

Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said that in the event of an emergency during the school day, educators will be responsible for making sure that the students receive the messages meant for them.

Yonkers Superintendent Anibal Soler said that they hope they can preserve teaching and learning and get back to where they were before. That was where kids would interact more with one another and teachers in class, as per ABC7NY.