Security on hold

After Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement this week restricting phone use in K-12 schools throughout New York State, beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, it’s time to revisit a topic I addressed in a blog almost a year ago. 

Hochul’s decree, which will take effect in the fall as part of the agreement on the FY 2026 State Budget, will see the implementation of bell-to-bell restrictions on smartphones throughout the entire school day. As a result, Hochul envisions “distraction-free” schools so that students can focus on “more learning, less scrolling,” a mantra that was plastered on the governor’s podium during her announcement on May 6.

“I know our young people succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling,” she stated.

The key word here is “implementation” – how will each school in NY State implement this ban on smartphones, which entails collecting phones from students as they enter school grounds and storing them until dismissal?

Gov. Hochul’s cellphone policy allows schools to develop their own plans for storing smartphones during the day, giving administrators and teachers the flexibility to do what works best for their buildings and students. In addition, Hochul has secured $13.5 million in funding to be made available for schools that need assistance in purchasing storage solutions.

One NYC high school teacher interviewed by local newspaper amNewYork expressed her concern of how this school smartphone ban would be implemented.

“Even though the expectation is that students don’t use their phones, currently there’s really not much that can be done about it,” she explained. “We teachers can’t take their phones away from them, administration doesn’t take the phones away from them.”

Examining the security angle of this policy, all New York K-12 schools will be required to give parents a way to contact their kids during the day, when necessary, which sounds like schools will implement their own methods for parents to reach their children in case of emergencies.

I said this in my blog last July and I’ll say it again – as a parent, we’ve seen too many mass school shootings over the last 20 years – Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Parkland, just to name a few.

A smartphone offers a line of communication between parent and child. God forbid an incident is taking place inside a school; I’d feel helpless and panic-stricken if I could not communicate with my children during a school emergency.

One concerned parent bluntly told amNewYork why students not having access to their phones during the school day could have very serious consequences.

“I would want my child to have their phone to contact me in case of an emergency, such as a school shooting,” she said. “Very scary times we live in.”

Indeed, these are very scary times, and while I commend Gov. Hochul for advocating on behalf of protecting youth mental health and promoting student success in the digital age, that line of communication between parents and children being taken away by this policy could mean the difference between life and death.