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NYC Set to Announce New School Ban on Cellphones Within Weeks

By Esme Fox

June 27, 2024 at 10:24 PM GMT+8

New York City is considering reinstating a ban on cellphone use by students amid growing nationwide concern that the devices distract children from learning and erode mental health.

Schools Chancellor David Banks said in an interview with NY1 Wednesday that an announcement about a ban, which would affect almost 1 million public school students, is coming in about two weeks.

“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, so you’ll be able to do that,” Banks said. “But we’re going to look to have a system where you can’t use it during the school day.”

A ban would mean the two biggest US school systems have taken steps to address the issue of mobile phone use. Last week the Los Angeles Unified School District approved of an all-day ban, which is set to take effect in January.

Banks says the plan for New York schools has been met with widespread support across the system.

“Everyone has been saying, ‘Take the phones,’” the chancellor said. “It is a major problem. Parents, administrators, teachers and kids.”

About 70% of high school teachers and one-third of middle school teachers say that students being distracted by cellphones is a major problem in their classrooms, according to the Pew Research Center.

New York City’s ban would standardize cellphone policy across the system, which currently allows schools to set their own rules. Some require students to lock up devices during the day.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she also plans to propose a statewide cellphone ban in schools during the 2025 legislative session.

Two decades ago, before the widepread use of smartphones, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg instituted a cellphone ban in New York schools. It was lifted by his successor, Bill de Blasio, in 2015.

Bloomberg, in a Bloomberg Opinion column this week, renewed his call to ban the devices in New York schools, citing their “devastating effects on learning.” The former mayor is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-27/nyc-set-to-announce-new-school-ban-on-cellphones-within-weeks

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NYC Schools Reverse Course on Cell-Phone Ban After Parents Balk

The remarks signal a reversal on a widely supported proposal to restrict phone use for more than 1.1 million public school students.

The remarks signal a reversal on a widely supported proposal to restrict phone use for more than 1.1 million public school students.

Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

By Magdalena Del Valle

October 3, 2024 at 9:28 PM GMT+8

New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said “now is not the time” to ban cell phones in schools, citing concerns from parents who struggled to reach their children during a lockdown at two Upper West Side schools last month.

Banks’ remarks signal a reversal on a widely supported proposal to restrict phone use for more than 1.1 million public school students across 1,800 campuses in the US’s largest school system.

Despite the initial push for a ban, Banks on Wednesday acknowledged the need for a balanced approach. He told Fox 5 New York that while both he and Mayor Eric Adams recognize the distractions that cell phones can cause in classrooms, they also understand the importance of allowing students to stay connected in the event of an emergency.

The shift comes as Banks prepares to step down. Last week he announced his plans to retire at the end of the calendar year after federal agents seized his phone as part of a corruption investigation into Adams’ inner circle. But on Thursday, City Hall said the timeline had been moved up and that Banks would now leave office on Oct. 16. Deputy Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos was tapped as his replacement.

The incident Banks cited took place on Sept. 12, when Frank McCourt High School on West 84th Street and a nearby elementary school went into lockdown following reports of a gunman in the high school’s bathroom. The threat was quickly deemed a false alarm, but some of the parents expressed frustration over the lack of direct communication during the incident.

“Parents were saying that ‘if an emergency happens, I need to be in touch with my child,’” Banks told Fox 5.

Still, polls show strong bipartisan support for banning cell phones in schools. A Siena College survey found 60% of voters back the measure across the political spectrum.

In California, the US’s most populous state, Governor Gavin Newsom this month signed the Phone-Free School Act, which requires all school districts, charter schools and county offices of education to develop policies restricting smartphone use by July 2026. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she intends to propose a statewide ban in schools during the 2025 legislative session.

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@Creative 概述兩個政策的理由和變化原因：）

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紐約市學校手機禁令政策概述

最初政策 (2024年6月)：

  • 理由：
    • 減少學生分心，提升學習效率。
    • 改善學生心理健康，降低手機成癮風險。
    • 標準化全市學校的手機政策，目前各校規定不一。
    • 效仿洛杉磯聯合學區等已實施禁令的學校系統。
    • 獲得教師、家長和管理人員的廣泛支持。
  • 變化原因：
    • 2024年9月，上西區兩所學校因誤報槍擊案而封鎖，家長難以聯繫孩子，引發擔憂。
    • 部分家長認為手機在緊急情況下是重要的溝通工具。

最新政策 (2024年10月)：

  • 理由：
    • 維持學生與家長在緊急情況下的聯繫管道。
    • 權衡手機的利弊，尋求更平衡的解決方案。
  • 變化原因：
    • 上西區學校封鎖事件凸顯手機在緊急情況下的作用。
    • 儘管民意調查顯示大多數選民支持手機禁令，但仍需考慮家長的擔憂。
    • 紐約市教育局長即將離職，新任局長可能重新評估手機政策。

總結：

紐約市學校手機禁令政策經歷了從支持到暫緩的轉變，主要原因是校園安全事件引發了家長對緊急情況下溝通的需求的擔憂。儘管減少學生分心和改善心理健康仍然是重要的目標，但政策制定者需要在這些目標與學生安全之間找到平衡點。未來政策走向仍有變數，可能需要更多討論和協商才能制定出更完善的方案。