Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Governor Kathy Hochul’s bell-to-bell cell phone ban in public schools receives the green light after being included in the state’s budget.
The ban, set to take effect next school year, is raising concerns about how it will be implemented and how much flexibility school administrators will have.
"A lot of superintendents are waiting to see exactly how much flexibility is there in, in the actual language that that we end up getting, in the guidance that comes around it. And I hope there's some, I know most of my colleagues hope there's some," stated Head of the Erie County Superintendents Association Michael Cornell.
Cornell explains that every school has their own way of handling cell phones and a one size fits all policy might not work for every district.
"We acknowledge that cell phones are a challenge in schools. No question about it. It's a hassle for teachers. It gets in the way of learning. So we acknowledge it's an issue. But if you look at the history of one size fits all state requirements, APPR, Common Core, some of the COVID era policies, none of those ended well, as we all know," stated Cornell.
Cornell explains that teaching children when it's appropriate to use their phones may be more effective than enforcing a ban.
"Think about how hard is to get your kid to put your phone away for a half hour during dinner right now. Multiply that by six and a half hours in a school day by 1,000 high school kids. Even in schools who've chosen of their own volition to do that, the enforcement of that has been very, very challenging. We run the risk focusing an awful lot of time and resources on chasing kids around with cell phones. Do they have it? Don't they have it. Why do they have it? Strikes me as might be problematic and and take time and energy away from things that matter a lot more," explained Cornell.