By Kyle McFarland, Measurement Incorporated

Free Download: Distraction Free Schools: A Quick Guide for New York K-12 School Administrators (PDF)

Starting fall 2025, over 2.4 million New York Students will experience something most students haven’t in years: a full school day without their cellphones, Apple Watches, or personal devices. Are schools ready for this seismic shift? During the past year, New York State enacted the “Bell-to-bell” cellphone ban (phones, tablets, smart watches, or any personal device that is internet enabled), which will begin in the 2025-2026 school year. This is an addendum to current education law, section 2803, which prohibits students from accessing and/or using smartphone or other internet-capable personal devices for the entire school day. Bell-to-bell means the entire instructional day, whether during class, lunch, study halls, classroom transition, school grounds, etc..

Under the new law, New York State schools are responsible to develop their own policies by August 1, 2025 for implementation for the 25-26 school year. The policy must include one or more options for storage of devices, one or more means of communicating with parents during the school day, and provide written notification to parents about how their children can be contacted. Each year following, the school must post a report on its website detailing enforcement of the policy and have demographic data for students who received discipline for noncompliance. If there are any demographic disparities, the district must develop an action plan to address the disparities. The New York State Education Department has ultimately given school districts the flexibility to create a plan/policy that best suits their individual district and needs. Governor Hochul and New York State has allocated $13.5 million in state funding to help districts implement this new law. 

Since passage of the law, the Governor’s office has released a Distraction-Free Schools website, with policy FAQs and a link to NYSUT’s Bell-to-Bell toolkit.   

Benefits and Challenges of NYS Cell Phone Restrictions

This new requirement will generate different outcomes, some of which can’t be predicted at this point. Since this law was first announced by Governor Hochul, many educational leaders in NYS have supported this law for many reasons, including: 

• Research cited by the Rockefeller Institute on school cell phone policies shows that students demonstrate better focus and engagement when devices are restricted, with teachers reporting more sustained attention (74% agreement), increased engagement during instruction, and a 44% decrease in average monthly behavioral referrals.

• Maryland Search Light’s analysis of cell phone ban implementation notes decreased instances of cyberbullying. The Rockefeller Institute’s examination of the topic also cites an example where cell phone bans led to increased face-to-face interactions among students. 

• NEA calls out ready access to technology as a means of cheating, though the “whys” are more complex.

This law involves multiple considerations that require attention:

• Chalkbeat and CBS6 Albany report parental anxiety about reaching their children at any point in case of emergencies.

• Families view expensive cell phones as too valuable for a student to give up. This financial investment potentially leads parents and students to argue for allowing cell phones at all times.

• Chalkbeat also shows varying student population, building layouts, and unequal staffing create implementation challenges, especially for larger or under-resourced schools.

• Lastly, Chalkbeat confirms that the $13.5 million allocation won’t come close to covering the requirements for many districts, especially those with large student populations.

  
  

Additionally, there are unresolved elements regarding this law:

• How much money will each district get? How does the district actually get the money?

• How is this new policy going to realistically be implemented? How are codes of conduct going to be adjusted? 

• Schools can’t restrict access to personal devices if these devices are part of an IEP or 504 plan. Does this mean more referrals for special education will be requested?

• Since schools can make exemptions for students, how will the school be equitable in their decision making process?

• How will schools assist teachers in explanations and/or justifications? How will teachers and schools discipline students who don’t adhere to the policy?

While these benefits, challenges, and unresolved elements create anxiety for school districts, some early New York State adopters have started to roadmap forward. The good news is that there are a few NYS schools that already have implemented this ban. Schoharie School District has had a no cell phone policy in place since 2022. Bethlehem Central Schools introduced phone pouches in 2023, with Amsterdam doing the same in 2024. Also, Lackawanna School District created their “no cell from bell to bell” policy for minimal costs ($25-30 per student). Many schools who have gone with a pouch solution utilize Yondr, who cites an 83% improvement in classroom engagement, a 74% improvement in student behavior, and a 65% improvement in academic performance..

According to EdWeek 26 states and Washington DC have policies in place that ban the use of cellphones in school. There are 9 other states where policies are encouraged and/or incentivized. Again, many of these schools report higher test scores, better focus, and less incidences of behavior. However, mental health impacts are less clear, with some studies, especially by Goodyear et.al, showing little to no improvements in school climate and no significant effect or even potential drawbacks if bans are not part of a broader support strategy.

What Schools Need in Their Policy

All of this comes down to planning, creating, and implementing a policy that works for each individual district. At its core, the policy will need to have a clearly defined scope and coverage. Think of the who-what-where-when-how. This policy will need to have specific guidance and language about the expectations and possible exemptions under the law, and special circumstances. The policy will need implementation specifics about enforcement and consequences, and communication safeguards. The policy will need to have robust stakeholder involvement, robust and ongoing professional development and staff training, a way to document and collect data, and emergency procedures and safety protocols (just to name a few!).

With implementation just months away, districts will need to start their planning process soon. The Summer of 2025 will be a valuable time for staff training, infrastructure setup, and community communication. This can feel overwhelming with the summer crunch. Even though these plans have not been created for most New York State schools, there is a pathway to success for each district. 

Headquartered in Albany, NY, the Evaluation and School Improvement Solutions unit of Measurement Incorporated provides consulting services to K-12 schools, districts, and other entities nationwide, including policy development and implementation.

Free Download: Distraction Free Schools: A Quick Guide for New York K-12 School Administrators (PDF)

Ref:

• NY Education Law 2803, www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EDN/2803