New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday the particulars of a potential state ban on cell phones in schools should become clearer later this month. The Democrat is waiting for a summit on cell phones in schools September 20, before announcing her intentions on the issue.
Since midsummer, Hochul has been listening to parents, students, teachers and administrators from across the state about banning cell phones in schools. At an unrelated event in a suburban Syracuse school Thursday, she said she personally has enough information, telling her the state needs a ban.
"I feel even more committed than I did at the beginning of this process,” Hochul said. “After all the stories I've heard from frustrated teachers, anxious parents, and teenagers who are asking us to help save them from themselves."
The trick is, said Hochul, how to do it. She hopes the September summit, sponsored in part by the state’s teacher unions, can provide the state with data needed to pound out the framework of a plan, whether it involves student's cell phones stored in individual pouches or shared drop boxes at school, or not allowing students to bring them to school at all.
Once that information is in, she’d like schools to have parent forums of their own to discuss the issue, and she said a law enforcement perspective should be part of the process.
“If there is a crisis that unfolds in the school, then you want these students to be focused 100% on the adult in the room that will lead them to safety,” said Hochul. “Going on your cell phone, texting friends, capturing video, this could all put them in harm's way. And that's a strong message that I heard as I did these roundtables that I want to make sure every parent hears and understands."
Once that plan comes together, Hochul wants to move quickly, noting state lawmakers return to Albany in January to start working on the state budget.
“But it even could be before the budget,” she said. “If there's sufficient interest, they actually can pass bills and I can sign them very early in the session as well. That’s also a possibility.”
