what took so long?
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Gov. Hochul believes new school cellphone ban will be a 'profound change' for students
NEW YORK (WABC) -- As the school year gets underway across New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke with Eyewitness News about the new statewide bell-to-bell cellphone ban.
"While people may not realize it now, this is going to be transformational for our children and their ability to actually start learning again in school," said Gov. Kathy Hochul.
When Hochul signed the 2026 state budget into law on May 9, she also enacted a new law that bans K-12 students from using cellphones in the schools.
"You have to ask the question, why was this allowed for over a decade in the first place? And while a governor doesn't normally get involved in education policy, I understand that, I saw that no one else was doing this," Hochul said.
Research shows that when students have access to cellphones in schools, they use them -- they scroll social media, they text, they're bombarded with notifications.
They're distracted and even they know it.
"One young girl said, 'you've got to save us from ourselves, we can't put this down on our own, but we know we should,' and I'm a mom and I said, 'when a child calls up for help, you've got to save us from ourselves, I will do this,'" Hochul said.
The principal for Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in Hell's Kitchen knows it's a good move.
"Returning from COVID there was this lack of socialization that was happening between kids, and we noticed that right away," said Principal Kristina Dvorakovskaya. "Kids were not talking to one another, kids were in classes and didn't even know each other's names."
So last year, she implemented a bell-to-bell cellphone ban for her students -- just like the state's new law.
"They put their cellphone in it, close the pouch and put it into a grade bin," said assistant Principal Rachana Patel. "Then they get locked up in a secure location until the end of the day for distribution."
The whole process takes only minutes a day and saves what was becoming hours a day of conversations with students about why they needed to put away their phones and instead focus on learning. The ban worked.
"At the end of the first marking period, we had our best performance, and I would say since the school opened probably, the GPA of kids was much higher, passing rates were much higher," Dvorakovskaya said.
She also says there was better attendance among seniors, swifter resolution of conflicts, and a lot more joy and socializing during lunch and in the hallways.
Those are all big wins, and not just for the educators.
"But when the phones were just taken off, everybody was talking with each other, making new connections, making new friendships and school environment felt more natural," said junior Zamir Karimov.
Junior Daniel Figueroa thinks even those students opposed to the ban will grow to like it.
"You're going to like it eventually, actually, I mean, at least for me, I love it now," Figueroa said. "Now because you start to conversate more among your peers. You love each other more."
Figueroa admits he was initially nervous to be without his phone, a typical reaction according to New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos who believes the ban will be a success.
"Because more than half of our schools have already done this, I'm confident that we're going to be fine," she said.
RELATED | 1-on-1 with the New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos
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Aviles-Ramos says family members will have a direct line to their children's school if they have an emergency, and that's in accordance with the law.
If there is a school emergency, families will be alerted, usually by text message.
If a student hangs onto their phone, the chancellor says they'll be met with progressive discipline.
"I would never want to see a young person be suspended because they're carrying a phone with them, right, like we need to get to the root of that problem," Aviles-Ramos said.
Thirty-five states have now passed a ban to limit cellphones or prevent them entirely in schools, prompting the question if a national ban should be put in place.
"It was hard to do this and I think a national ban would make a lot of sense, so that we're prioritizing our children in this country and getting them ready to compete in the global workplace," Hochul said.
The hope is the ban will give students a better chance of success, not just in school, but in life.
"Blame me if you're not happy," Hochul said. "But I know at the end of the day, this will be a profound change for all the students in the state of New York."
Tim
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