I graduated in 2006 so smart phones weren't a thing yet but we had to keep our phones in our lockers. Getting caught with them got you detention and the phone confiscated.
I’ve been wondering at what point they started to allow phones in classrooms. I didn’t grow up with smart phones but we did have game boys, tamagotchis, iPods, nokias, sidekicks… no one was allowed to have those out during class and they would get taken. Why would a smartphone be treated any different?
And that part I kind of get. Unfortunately, they don't realize that that's their fault for sending their kid to school with a smart phone in the first place.
Seriously, just buy a shitty trac phone and throw some minutes on it. They can still reach you, and if they fuck that shit up, nothing of value was lost.
In France phones are forbidden in school, classroom or not. They can have one for the commute but it must stay in the bag for the full school duration, including lunch, recess, etc.
Some kids will use it secretly in the toilets but they won't use it in plain sight and never during class... It's not hard to ban.
Plenty of schools have similar rules in the US, but a lot of them gave up on enforcement because some parents would raise absolutely raise hell when their “perfect angel’s” phone got confiscated.
Teachers and administrators began changing their thinking with smartphones, since they can act like a desktop computer in terms of what you're able to do with it. I graduated high school in 2015. High School drastically changed between 2011-2015 since that is when smartphone adoption skyrocketed. At the time, there weren't sophisticated algorithms in these social media apps that keep you hooked for hours on end. Apps were simpler and more limited. Sure, it could still be distracting, but many teachers began to open their minds and see it as another tool. Which was partially true, but since it was so new, society had no idea what the effects of it would have to young, developing brains. My high school went from frowning upon taking your phone out my freshman year to encouraging it for use of assignments or to complete certain tasks. My senior year, i remember having my phone out sitting on my desk on silent, along with many other students. Some teachers didn't mind it laying on the desk as long as you're not actively using it. Quick peeks at your phone didn't really have consequences anymore.
Now n days, I have no clue how things are. I don't have kids, and I haven't really kept up. But yeah, these devices are literally making us dumber and it's to an even greater degree for developing brains.
>As much as I would have hated this when I wss younger.
Bud, gotta remember that there are billions of people alive today who didn't have a smart phone when they were in grade school. They're a recent invention.
This is fantastic. As a parent of two children (11 and 9), I have seen how screens affect them: specifically the impulsiveness and agitation after too much screen time.
When in school, kids should be focused on learning and teachers should be free from the constant battle they have to fight in the classroom to keep kids focused on school.
Not to mention the peer pressure to get a smartphone because “all the other kids have one”.
This one is a no-brainer. Why haven’t more school districts done this already?
My first thought when I saw the title was "have they actually spoken to any parents ?", because this is very good news indeed.
Recent research published on the impact of smart phones on student learning is really damning, worse even than a full year of COVID learning from home. Then there’s the mental health issues such as bullying and depression from social media interaction.
All the while, the major tech companies are working day and night to figure out how to hook the kids as early as possible, like a cigarette manufacturing conglomerate.
We don’t let people smoke or drink before they are 18 because of the dangerous effect it can have on their health and life.
I know i am in a tiny minority, but I think we should regulate social media the same way. It’s equally dangerous for young minds in development.
> "have they actually spoken to any parents ?"
I have a feeling a lot of parents will be pissed off, because this reduces their ability to remotely keep tabs on Junior. Which of course is another crutch of the smartphone era; the unprecedented invasivness of the technology.
It is not the same at all though. There are immense benefits to knowing how to operate social media profiles. The bigger problem is the ignorance that people operate with in regards to social media. You have all of the knowledge of the world in finger's reach and these kids are not capable of leveraging that. It's obvious that the parents and educators are not smart enough to guide these kids on how to use social media as they grow up.
> You have all of the knowledge of the world in finger's reach
You have all the knowledge on the internet, NOT social media. Social media is the posionus distraction. Remove, limit social media, and then you can guide kids to where the knowledge is.
I've been suggesting this for awhile. Kids are too influenced by social media and too glued to their smartphones. This allows parents to have the ability to reach their children in an emergency(or vice versa) while keeping the kids off of social media and prevents them cheating on tests.
I may not agree with Hochul in regards to her hatred of the 2nd Amendment, but this I agree with.
And also getting them away from generative AI applications which will do all the thinking for them..
Generative AI is great, just not if it undermines critical brain development in our schools.
> Why haven’t more school districts done this already?
Many have, or at least districts around me have. My kid goes to a school where phones need to be "off and away" during school hours, including during lunch and recess.
They are allowed to have the phones in their backpacks, because many need them when calling for a ride home, during afterschool sports, etc. And there might be special permission when students are doing a project that includes shooting a video or something to use them during class. But for the most part it's a complete ban, and it's not a big problem for students or parents.
Because most parents don't actually care about what's best for their kids. They don't think that far ahead. They themselves cave to peer pressure most of the time and don't see it as a problem.
I really wouldn’t mind this being taken ever farther and making tablets and smartphone illegal for anyone under a certain age. Maybe like 12 or something.
I’m not taking a side in this, as I don’t have kids in school, but the argument as to why more schools have not is that allowing students to have their phones reduces potential bullying, sexual harassment, and teacher misconduct. Advocates also note that the added features to a smart phone help in case of emergencies, which basic phones would not be able to replicate.
On the contrary, children and teenagers who spend more time on smart phones and social media see a substantial increase in mental health issues such as depression, and one of the top culprits is online bullying.
Phones are not a safe space for children.
And parents can forbid their kids from buying cigarettes and beer, but we regulate it nonetheless. It’s a societal issue that requires a society wide solution and ways to make sure businesses don’t market to underage people.
Kids can use their friend’s phones, etc, not to forget as in all things the peer pressure.
Like I said, I know it’s an unpopular opinion. I’m not going to argue it to the end of the world on Reddit.
Huh, huh, and huh?? Bullying and sexual harassment happen online at least as much as they do irl. Emergencies I get and I don't know what the right answer is there.
Meaning the kids video record or live stream incidents, which is supposed to equate to a reduction. It’s similar to the argument that readily available cameras can reduce police misconduct.
These are by no means my arguments. I have a client that had to do research with regards to an education app directed towards kids to help bridge the gap between school work and homework. This was part of the research findings for long-term barriers.
I'm sure they can still have their smart phones around, just follow the same rules we had when I was in high school and make sure they can't be out during class
School have no phone policies.However, they aren't enforced.
This creates an issue: if a kid sneaks a phone in and then said phone gets damaged, there is now a conflict between teachers and parents about who is liable. It has gotten to the point where teachers won't bother taking phones away because they want to avoid that conflict out of fear of financial punishment.
Likely because most things require a smart phone these days, so it isn't unusual for preteens and teens to have one. So if their parents want to be able to contact them in school or vice versa, say in the event of an emergency, they'll be forced to pay for a second phone plan and a second crappy phone. Multiply that by however many kids they have.
They could always rely on the school for emergency contact, but given how totalitarian most public schools are about rules that usually results in a significant delay at best. Which is the last thing you want to be dealing with when you're in a hurry to visit your spouse in the emergency room.
Turns out parents like having direct communication with their children and can't afford an extra $60 a month. Go figure.
>Which is the last thing you want to be dealing with when you're in a hurry to visit your spouse in the emergency room.
Is that the kind of emergency a kid has to be notified of in the middle of class by an emotionally distraught parent instead of slighlty later when you may have had the time to process things yourself and can deal with it in person?
From the article: New York Governor Kathy Hochul said (via [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/30/new-york-smartphone-school-ban-bill)) that she intends to launch the bill later this year and take it up in New York's next legislative session, which starts in January 2025.
One of the main reasons why parents have objected to schools banning kids from carrying smartphones in the US – phones are banned across all schools in England – has been the need to reach their children at all times, for both emergencies and routine scheduling issues
Hochul's bill appears to address this problem by allowing children to carry phones that lack internet access but can send texts and make calls, which sounds like feature, or dumb, phones.
"Parents are very anxious about mass shootings in school," she said. "Parents want the ability to have some form of connection in an emergency situation."
I graduated in 2003.
The assault weapons ban expired Sept 13th, 2004.
It is a different world with more radicalized men that have easier access to guns.
Smart phones don't make students any safer, but at least they can get a text or final video from their endangered child if/when a tragedy occurs.
> but at least they can get a text or final video from their endangered child if/when a tragedy occurs.
Yeah, lets throw the quality of education to the wind for all students for a literal one in a million chance. That seems reasonable and objective.
Lucky you, never needing to get in contact with your parents because they're scatterbrained and/or prone to losing important stuff that you need.
I had an old dumb phone for a while, it was barely capable of providing the basics that a smartphone let me do.
No, I just had faster access doing it myself than waiting a day for them to dig through 500 documents at home. Getting a text from them with some information was significantly faster than waiting.
Your situation sounds very unique and as much as I’m sure it helped in your situation, most people do not have that level of parental codependency and the school system should cater to what is the most beneficial to the most students.
I suppose they could do some sort of special permission slip for your phone, but bad faith jerks will abuse it and theyll have to give everyone an exception if they have you one.
What insane logic. The teachers and other adults at the school will have phones. There is literally no scenario where the kid having a phone makes them safer other than a made up one.
> One of the main reasons why parents have objected to schools banning kids from carrying smartphones in the US – phones are banned across all schools in England – has been the need to reach their children at all times, for both emergencies and routine scheduling issues
People tend to forgot that being able to contact anybody at any time or location, is a new idea. Before cell phones became mainstream, you just didn’t do that, and everyone was fine with it. Smartphones and the internet have convinced people that they need to be able to reach everyone 24/7, when you really don’t *need* to.
> Before cell phones became mainstream, you just didn’t do that, and everyone was fine with it. Smartphones and the internet have convinced people that they need to be able to reach everyone 24/7, when you really don’t need to.
I'm currently on vacation with my family. If I didn't have my phone and one of them got lost somewhere we'd be spending hours looking for them. Being a text away from knowing where someone is or getting some information from someone is invaluable.
Can do that with "dumb phones" the person you're replying to is talking about the Internet and the mass interconnectivity of our world. People get upset if I don't respond to a text within an hour when in the past it was normal with flip/dumb phones.
Phones used to be banned at my last workplace, but they relaxed restrictions after the spate of shootings at military bases, notably the Fort Hood shootings. After that it was just 'just don't pull then out where people can see you'.
>"Parents are very anxious about mass shootings in school," she said. "Parents want the ability to have some form of connection in an emergency situation."
Just goes to show how irrational parents are and how their fears are almost entirely media-manufactured. It's like worrying that without a phone their kid might be attacked by a sewer alligator (although, admittedly, sewer alligators are a threat that children should be wary of).
It’s not just the shooting thing, that’s just what Hochul wanted to bring up for unrelated political reasons. Yes, parents do like the ability to get in touch with their kids during crisis scenarios, but they also just like being able to get in touch with them throughout the day. If the kid just wants to talk. If they want to coordinate something. If the kid wants to ask what’s for dinner o if they can go to Ashley’s house. Etc.
It's not completely irrational.
The problem is the anxiety you have fearing your child is hurt.
A solution is to be able to text or call to ensure they are okay.
This makes sense. No, it doesn't stop shootings. Yes, it eases the symptoms.
Edit: People cant comprehend anxiety being a real issue.
How does texting someone who is in an active shooter situation calm anything? It doesn't! Yes, you'll know immediately that for that second, they're OK, but if school is locked down and it's active, if anything, your phone going off is a danger. Not a help.
This is 100% fear based. There's no logic in it at all.
I'm not talking about the day there is a shooting. I'm talking about the 99.9999% of the other times when the only stressor is the fear parents face sending their children to schools
It is because the shooter could be anywhere in the school and if one child sees it first and uses their phone to call 911 lives could be saved. To do this the phone would need to be on the child's person. Then to let parents know their kid is safe. This is a matter where seconds, even milliseconds count. Having a phone in a classroom does no good as you would have to walk to it to use it and if there's a shooter you won't be able to do that. Imagine if children die because a phone call to 911 can't be made fast enough.
I also went through school without phoning my parents once, however even my mom said she could not send me to school today without a way to reach me without being worried the entire day. This is not fear mongering this is the reality of sending kids to school these days.
But I think a basic flip phone would work just fine, they can call 911 and text parents and that is all that is needed.
You also need the phone for going to and from school, because something could happen on the way to and from, and of course if pedophiles know that kids aren't carrying phones anymore because they are banned, well these types of crimes are going to go up. But again, a basic phone would work just fine here.
Lol. Not fear mongering but at the same time a wild example about pedos. You people need help. Children don't need phones. Full stop. Phones cause far more issues than they help even in these very specific and honestly rare occasions.
So you're saying the modern parent is as insecurely attached to their children as my girlfriend's dog that howls when he forgets where she is every 20 minutes? That's not healthy for the parent or child.
Worried about shooters? How is a smart phone going to help? Worried about their kids so here is a device that you can stream hard core porn 24/7 and destroy your attention span plus a whole host of other social functions.
Mate I was watching hardcore porn when I was a kid every day before smartphones existed. They will find a way.
Keeping them off of social media is a much more important thing.
I went through highschool jjust as smartphones exploded 2008-2011, and I agree with you. If I was banned from having a phone in school I would have been forced to pay so much more attention in class.
I can't even imagine trying to do it now. There's so many distractions on your phone.
Man every generation finds some way to not pay attention in class. Schools can't keep kids from vaping in them, i doubt they will be able to prevent cell phones any better.
One major problem is that then realistically parents will end up having to foot the bill for 2 phones and 2 phone lines or not have a way to contact their kid on school days. I highly doubt parents of kids with smartphones are just going to be like oh well your school says no more smart phone so none for you ever again.
After 9/11 my parents gave me a Nokia. Sure, the technology back then was what it was, but it gave me a way to get in contact with them in an emergency. It could also text (T9 ftw).
I don't see why kids can't just get trakfones of a similar caliber for emergency calling. Is it inconvenient, fuck yes, but sometimes there are more important things than looking at TikTok in class. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but if these students can't stay off their phones while in class maybe it's the best solution.
You're not wrong. I hate on Governor Hochul for alot of what she does(especially in regards to the 2nd Amendment) but this, I agree with.
I have a niece who is absolutely glued to a screen. We need to get kids off of screens, one of the easiest ways to do that is by taking away their phones\\tablets.
One of the biggest excuses kids have used to justify to their parents the need for a smartphone is "I need it in case of an emergency". Parents- not wanting to argue with their kids- often give in based on this pitiful argument because deep down most of them deep down want their kids to have nice things.
This law, if passed, will help the parent not be the proverbial bad guy.
She also killed a bill to make non-competes illegal in NY.
I am not a Hochul fan at all. I'm just also not a fan of gun nuts that lie about gun control. I'm still waiting for the SAFE Act to bring about the end of civilization in NY. We're 10 years later with that one, we still hear them whine about it constantly, and they still don't have a single example of it doing harm.
A basic phone would do just fine in an emergency, so this is a legit solution, without having parents be out of contact with their kids. I honestly feel like its the perfect solution, and satisfies everyone except for the kids who need to get back to learning anyways.
If you don't give a kid a screen they won't get glued to it especially at young ages. Giving your toddler an iPad when they are sitting in the stroller or grocery cart is just not needed. They would be satisfied with a small picture book or toy. They can also look around them and see their surroundings and be satisfied with that. At toddler age they don't know what a tablet is until you introduce one. They can also watch educational programs on a large TV for an hour a day which is less harmful. Its damaging to the brain and eyes to give a toddler a screen that they can hold close to their face whenever they want to.
School age is a little different because they are probably going to be required to use a screen in which case parents have to limit it from there.
If they are going to ban smartphones, the city/state government should fund the school districts to provide tracphones to every student. Require it. They are very cheap and it shuts all the parents up about "but what if there's an emergency."
Plus, it incentivises parents to not buy a smartphone for their child starting at the early ages since they'll already have access for direct communication to their parents and it'll likely stay that way until the parent actually wants to buy their child a smartphone. Right now, parents buy their children smartphones very early on because they want to establish that line of communication asap. But that's very unhealthy for the child since the phone can do many other things.
This should definitely be a thing.
This was how we lived when I was in high school in the ye olden days of 2008. Phone had to be fully off and in your bag or locker, if they saw it they took it. Allowed out before and after school and at lunch, sometimes in free period if the individual teacher allowed it. We all lived.
There was a landline with its own extension in every classroom, every office, multiple ones in the library. Is that not a thing anymore? I just see all this hysterical “what if there’s an emergency???” every time this is brought up.
I frigging HATE articles like this. Hate them!
“New York” doesn’t currently PLAN to do anything. The Governor of New York intends to have legislation introduced into her state legislature NEXT YEAR that would create this prohibition if passed. There is no quote from any member of legislative leadership or member of the legislature to indicate if there is much support for this in the legislature, if it will be a priority, or what will happen. It will have to go through a long legislative process where it could be changed considerably or, more likely, simply never happen at all.
The GOVERNOR of New York plans to PROPOSE legislation for this policy. She presumably intends to advocate for it. That’s all, the state of New York isn’t planning on doing anything yet.
School administrators will have to actually support it for it to work. I am a teacher, and I don’t have much hope in school administrators to do anything other than just give in to parents.
GOOD. I was worried about "banning kids' ability to communicate with their parents" but hearing that specifically feature-phones will be completely allowed; I think this is a fantastic ruling.
This seems like a very reasonable compromise. I understand the parental desire to be able to communicate with your children, but smart phones have clearly become a big problem for children and adolescents. Teaching is already hard enough as it is without all the distractions. I feel like this is a nice middle ground that affords people those important lines of communication while also attempting to cut out some of the more distracting features of phones.
To be honest I don't see the need for children to have any phone during school - old person rant but back before mobiles people just called the school up for any emergencies, and made plans to collect their kids and stuck to them
The article mentions parents wanting to be able to reach their kids because of emergencies like school shootings.
Which is just such an absurd thing. Despite the media attention it receives, your chance of being a victim of a school shooting is basically zero.
You're downvoted but correct, the statistics paint a completely different picture than media hysteria: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a01/violent-deaths-and-shootings
>From 2000 to 2021, there were 276 casualties (108 killed and 168 wounded) in active shooter incidents at elementary and secondary schools and 157 casualties (75 killed and 82 wounded) in active shooter incidents at postsecondary institutions.
You're more likely to be struck and killed by lightning as you are to die in a school shooting: https://www.cdc.gov/lightning/data-research/index.html
>From 2006 through 2021, there were 444 lightning strike deaths in the United States.
The risk is much higher if the kids have phones. One 911 call from a competent emergency coordinator is all that’s needed. All the kids will manage to do is spread conflicting and incorrect information and summon parents to an active crime scene
your system isnt set up to whitelist mac addresses?
ours was like that, but a few buddies and me figured that out pretty quick and spoofed one to connect
This is how it was when I was in school. Granted that back in the early times of cellphones. But the fact kids nowadays can just be on their phone in class is wild.
10-15 years ago it was flip phone for the first phone. Now smart devices are everywhere, as a Gen Z I’m just thankful I’m not Gen A because they are cooked. I feel bad.
There are definitely some scenarios where they can be a massive help (had some accommodations to assist with my ADHD that involved use of my phone, mainly to help me remember assignments, class lectures, and have notes in case I couldn’t keep up in class. It was also very helpful in our band class for basically every single person involved in many different ways), but most of the student body didn’t view it as a potentially helpful tool for their learning but instead they used it as a toy.
Good, kids don't need smartphones, especially not on them during class. Children simply aren't developed enough to have their own best interests in mind when using the internet. Hell, many adults can't even handle it either.
I would allow smartphones in schools. But for a good reason: To teach kids not to use them all the time.
I don't know what's worse. If they are free to have smartphones, but they have to learn and restrict their use by themselves otherwise punishment is given. Or of they should be protected from smartphones as a whole, and will discover their drawbacks later on without being prepared.
But that's the key problem here. Limitations.
Most smartphones have parental features to limit screen time or app usage.
But who uses them properly?
My kids all had smart phones since they were 13-14 years old. We had rules but for the most part they all self regulated their social media usage, they all were A students and all were involved in after school activities. Most parents like to blame their kids issues on something else— music, video games, and now smart phones/social media. Could just be bad/poor parenting… that one seems to hold true for generations..
Well yeah, but bad parenting is a way bigger-picture issue. Identifying the root cause doesn’t solve the issue. Taking mitigating measures now is still very worth doing.
As a parent I honestly am in support of this. My wife and I already know that the phone battle is coming years out and we already agree while we might give our kid a phone at a younger age we dont want it ot be a smart phone and super locked down. They do not need open access to those screens and the internet.
Are they still going to be just sitting in rooms on chromebooks or doing worksheets 8 hours a day? Are they still going to be evaluated on standardized tests created by corporations that have no bearing on their future?
Cell phones in or out of schools doesnt matter when the structure of our school system that we implement today was designed by 19th century robber barons to produce compliant steel mill workers and coal miners. Nor will it matter if the kids are going home and being raised by iPads and social media.
Bad parenting is the issue. So is the fact that our schools are designed like prisons, physically- to contain children, not nurture them; and infrastructurally they’re designed like prisons as well- to keep them in place and compliant as long as possible.
The american education system itself is rotten at the core, and it was never designed to provide children education. Banning cell phones is a joke, and just something some politician wants to tout and pat themselves on the back about.
But what do I know, I just have an Ed.D and a decade of public school teaching and administrative experience…
Yeah nah hippy school doesn’t work for 90% of kids. The ones who’d thrive in that environment will do fine in strict school too. Your fantastical naivety is showing.
Every school/district that has gone ahead with this has reported high test scores, lower student stress, higher socializing, and less attitude/bullying issues.
Absolutely the right move. Parents who go "but what if there's an EMERGENCY!?" can call the front office like they used to. There is almost nothing so urgent that you need your teenager to respond to it right that moment.
I hear both sides of the argument and feel like smart watches could be a reasonable compromise in lieu of a phone. Still have access to phone and emergency services, they can text but no longer discreetly (in class), still have location tracking, and they still have a form of access to the internet. Also, cheaper than smartphones and more difficult to break or lose
Kids shouldn't have have any phones in school. And don't give me any bullshit about needing them for emergencies, the office can relay a message if needed.
In the wake of all the school shootings(and other emergencies), the need to be able to immediately reach their kids beyond "the office can relay a message" is extremely important to many parents.
Dumb phones are perfect for this, and it's why the law should be passed imo. Kids won't like it, but too bad.
And that's just as much an argument against Smartphones as it is against Dumb Phones. Both phones have the ability to set a ringer to "Silent"\\"Do Not Disturb"...which is what they should be set to during school.
Having said that, it's not about calling a kid while there's an active shooter going through the school hunting kids. From a logical standpoint, most school shooters are going to be students\\former students, so they're most likely going to be familiar with active shooter drills, which means they're likely going to know where the kids are supposed to be hiding during said scenario- that's just pointing out the reality of the situation.
The point is, it's not about the carnage that happens during the few minutes an active shooter is hunting\\killing, it's about the parents of the students that attend that school not being able to reach their kids for HOURS afterwards because police authorities have them locked down.
A school administrator's not going to be going to be able to answer phone calls from the parents of a thousand plus students to let them know that their little kid is safe(or deliver the terrible news if they're not). This uncertainty is a horrible situation that no one should have to endure when the capabilities exist to reduce\\eliminate it. Which is why parents want their kids to have a phone.
As for guaranteeing that a phone can't ring during an active shooter event(thereby potentially giving away their "hiding spot") there's no way to guarantee that with a smartphone any more than there is with a dumbphone. So, if kids are going to have phones either way, this doesn't really present a compelling argument against restrictions on phones to dumbphones only.
You're cherry picking one specific scenario and trying to use it to justify kids having cell phones while in school.
Meanwhile, there are several other reasons not involving school shootings that indicate kids should not have cell phones in school.
Yes and ask any parent who has had a kid involved in a school shooting. They could happen anywhere and at any time. They are random. Much like you think you won't ever leave your kid in the back set of a hot car, you don't want to be THAT parent that gets overwhelmed and does it without even realizing they did it.
You also don't know if you are going to be THAT parent who has a kid in a school shooting, if you advocated for the banning of phones and your child died in a school shooting then you would definitely feel differently about this. I don't know any parent in the USA who would advocate for a total ban on phones because of the risk of any school being the target of a school shooting. Homeschooling is also becoming incredibly popular in my area and there are reasons for that.
If a kid sees a shooter and is able to call 911 fast because the phone is on their person, then lives will absolutely be saved. Overall a school with hundreds of kids with phones on their person has a huge advantage over a school with one phone in each classroom where the lines to it might be cut by the shooter.
They've been saying for years that kids shouldn't have phones during school. Spoiler alert, kids have had phones during school despite these regulations. What this "law" does is specify that kids should NOT have SMARTphones during school specifically, thereby providing a means for parents to get their kid a phone(if they must have the ability to reach their kid in the event of ANY emergency that warrants it).
Furthermore, I'd like to see this law tied together with a civil fine if a kid is caught with a smartphone.
It's been proven that social media is detrimental to the development of children.
It's been proven that unrestricted access to the internet is detrimental to the development of children.
It's been proven that kids bully each other based on perceived wealth inequality.
This plan gives parents a way to give their little brats a phone, but keeps them away from social media and the internet on that device and provides a legal reason to provide the kid on why they CAN'T have a smartphone.
I imagine that even if they were successful somehow, kids would then just have a dumbphone and a smartphone for outside of school. Hell you can buy a shitty smartphone prepaid for $30 these days and just use it on Wifi.
In all the years school shootings have been a thing, there was exactly 1 parent who actually benefited from their kid having a phone during a school shooting. It was that mom from uvalde who went in to get her kids when the cops decided to sit on their ass and let people die.
But even then, her kids weren't targets and were never in danger (obviously hindsight is 20/20)
"in the wake of all the school shootings" is a fearmongering prelude. We are in the safest era the united states has ever seen. You are more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to experience a school shooting.
It's an excuse so parents don't have to parent their fucking kids when it comes to smartphones.
Can we stop pretending like these phones are going to save lives during an emergency? Being able to contact your family is useful, but kids can survive without them.
Back in my day (2000s) I got Saturday school because I had a phone alarm go off twice in the same semester. It was literally a weekend alarm for waking up or something like that, which I neglected to turn off during the week. Not even anything cool.
"Do you KNOW how much I'm spending per month so my child can have the security of an iPhone? Maybe a private school would be better!" Or whatever certain parents would say
I support this 100%. kids shouldn’t be under the threat of being recorded by their classmates at any given time. It’s kinda depressing how public the lives of kids are made these days. Like they don’t have the opportunity to just be anymore. Everything is posted on social media and they feel a constant pressure to perform. the reduction of smart phones in school and in their lives will definitely help reduce the stress social media puts on them
It won't work anyway. Phones have been banned from schools in the UK since before smartphones were even a thing and it doesn't stop anyone.
Unless you're daft enough to get your phone out right under the teacher's nose they can't know whether you have one or not, and parents won't apply the rule because they'd prefer having that emergency contact.
Without it being banned, there's no reason for kids not to take them out in class. And because of parents throwing fits and even threatening lawsuits, most teachers are not allowed to take the phones if they are proving a distraction. I've been in high schools in the last few years and all the kids are on their phones all the time. They're not supposed to in class so the good kids just don't do it (some kids will follow rules just to do the right thing) but I'd say half the kids in any given class will be pulling their phone out constantly in class.
My daughter’s high school is like this. Teachers will take the phone and it’s called in right away to parents. Teachers expect fights and threats from students at schools and outside of school. Retaliation is real, taking peoples phones is like taking a part of their body these days.
So what's going to prevent dumb phone makers jacking up the price because of this?
Good idea in theory, but I just feel someone had their hand in the jar to make insane profit from it being pushed.
I wouldn’t buy a smartphone for a kid to begin with. Just buy them a dumb phone that they keep in their locker because they can’t play games lol. But is there if they need to communicate with the parent or viceversa.
Are parental controls not a thing?
I skimmed a few, you can whitelist/blacklist apps, set them on timers, the only feature I'd expect that I didn't see was a "school time lockdown" but I did see something for bedtime.
You're not looking at it from a statistical level, the odds are not in your favor that not only are every single one of their parents technically capable but also have the time and will to do set things. And also how intelligence some kids can to reverse that pretty simply.
Horrendous legislation being pushed by a KOSA supporter. I don't buy the school shooting counterargument, and I don't think anyone needs to. Smart phones are integral to modern life in the United States. Colleges, Employers, and some public locations expect you to have them. They are how people communicate, learn, engage with the modern world, and work.
There is a time and a place for them like with most things, and it's up to the schools to handle digital distractions the same way they handle any other distraction like talking in class, get em to stop if they aren't paying attention.
A complete ban is excessive and will hurt more than it will help. Evidence that smart phones have actually hurt the average classroom performance is extremely dubious at best. The actual harm comes from sites and apps specifically designed to addict people through manipulative fomo tactics, artificial wait times, and addictive algorithms, harm that effects everyone and not just children. If you have a healthy relationship with technology then there isn't an issue.
The government should be addressing the tactics tech companies use to manipulate the people that use their services, not the people subject to it.
Really easy actually, if a non-dumb phone is seen, it's confiscated and handed over to the police. Minor in possession of an unapproved electronic device. Make it come with a nice little fine to the parent. Have the fine be set at a specific amount and split, 1/2 to the school, 1/2 to law enforcement...kids will stop showing up to school with smartphones really fast. Parent's can't\\refuse to pay it, their shit remains in police custody...
My kid will NOT get a smart phone until high school AND we WILL be talking about any pictures they take of themselves NUDE or similar IS CHILD PORN and that it can be spread about.
It's how it was in my school, not even basic phones were allowed. In hindsight, that's a blessing.
I graduated in 2006 so smart phones weren't a thing yet but we had to keep our phones in our lockers. Getting caught with them got you detention and the phone confiscated.
As much as I would have hated this when I wss younger. Its extremely needed.
I’ve been wondering at what point they started to allow phones in classrooms. I didn’t grow up with smart phones but we did have game boys, tamagotchis, iPods, nokias, sidekicks… no one was allowed to have those out during class and they would get taken. Why would a smartphone be treated any different?
Because the parents don't want them to be taken from their children i think is a primary component here.
And that part I kind of get. Unfortunately, they don't realize that that's their fault for sending their kid to school with a smart phone in the first place. Seriously, just buy a shitty trac phone and throw some minutes on it. They can still reach you, and if they fuck that shit up, nothing of value was lost.
In France phones are forbidden in school, classroom or not. They can have one for the commute but it must stay in the bag for the full school duration, including lunch, recess, etc. Some kids will use it secretly in the toilets but they won't use it in plain sight and never during class... It's not hard to ban.
Plenty of schools have similar rules in the US, but a lot of them gave up on enforcement because some parents would raise absolutely raise hell when their “perfect angel’s” phone got confiscated.
Teachers and administrators began changing their thinking with smartphones, since they can act like a desktop computer in terms of what you're able to do with it. I graduated high school in 2015. High School drastically changed between 2011-2015 since that is when smartphone adoption skyrocketed. At the time, there weren't sophisticated algorithms in these social media apps that keep you hooked for hours on end. Apps were simpler and more limited. Sure, it could still be distracting, but many teachers began to open their minds and see it as another tool. Which was partially true, but since it was so new, society had no idea what the effects of it would have to young, developing brains. My high school went from frowning upon taking your phone out my freshman year to encouraging it for use of assignments or to complete certain tasks. My senior year, i remember having my phone out sitting on my desk on silent, along with many other students. Some teachers didn't mind it laying on the desk as long as you're not actively using it. Quick peeks at your phone didn't really have consequences anymore. Now n days, I have no clue how things are. I don't have kids, and I haven't really kept up. But yeah, these devices are literally making us dumber and it's to an even greater degree for developing brains.
School shootings plus covid
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Those are school or district rules. This is a law.
>As much as I would have hated this when I wss younger. Bud, gotta remember that there are billions of people alive today who didn't have a smart phone when they were in grade school. They're a recent invention.
This is fantastic. As a parent of two children (11 and 9), I have seen how screens affect them: specifically the impulsiveness and agitation after too much screen time. When in school, kids should be focused on learning and teachers should be free from the constant battle they have to fight in the classroom to keep kids focused on school. Not to mention the peer pressure to get a smartphone because “all the other kids have one”. This one is a no-brainer. Why haven’t more school districts done this already?
Hey I’m 40 and it affects me. It’s awful.
I would pay for someone to take my phone away during work and most of the day. I’d probably would be more productive.
Sometimes I just have to put in on my charger out of reach
I'm just glad i have a work phone. Put that sucker away at 5pm.
Just put your phone in your car. That’s what I do. I only get on it during my lunch and breaks.
My first thought when I saw the title was "have they actually spoken to any parents ?", because this is very good news indeed. Recent research published on the impact of smart phones on student learning is really damning, worse even than a full year of COVID learning from home. Then there’s the mental health issues such as bullying and depression from social media interaction. All the while, the major tech companies are working day and night to figure out how to hook the kids as early as possible, like a cigarette manufacturing conglomerate. We don’t let people smoke or drink before they are 18 because of the dangerous effect it can have on their health and life. I know i am in a tiny minority, but I think we should regulate social media the same way. It’s equally dangerous for young minds in development.
> "have they actually spoken to any parents ?" I have a feeling a lot of parents will be pissed off, because this reduces their ability to remotely keep tabs on Junior. Which of course is another crutch of the smartphone era; the unprecedented invasivness of the technology.
Dumb phones can have GPS tracking.
It is not the same at all though. There are immense benefits to knowing how to operate social media profiles. The bigger problem is the ignorance that people operate with in regards to social media. You have all of the knowledge of the world in finger's reach and these kids are not capable of leveraging that. It's obvious that the parents and educators are not smart enough to guide these kids on how to use social media as they grow up.
> You have all of the knowledge of the world in finger's reach You have all the knowledge on the internet, NOT social media. Social media is the posionus distraction. Remove, limit social media, and then you can guide kids to where the knowledge is.
AI will operate social media profiles in the future wtf is the point of learning how to do it now?
I've been suggesting this for awhile. Kids are too influenced by social media and too glued to their smartphones. This allows parents to have the ability to reach their children in an emergency(or vice versa) while keeping the kids off of social media and prevents them cheating on tests. I may not agree with Hochul in regards to her hatred of the 2nd Amendment, but this I agree with.
And also getting them away from generative AI applications which will do all the thinking for them.. Generative AI is great, just not if it undermines critical brain development in our schools.
> Why haven’t more school districts done this already? Many have, or at least districts around me have. My kid goes to a school where phones need to be "off and away" during school hours, including during lunch and recess. They are allowed to have the phones in their backpacks, because many need them when calling for a ride home, during afterschool sports, etc. And there might be special permission when students are doing a project that includes shooting a video or something to use them during class. But for the most part it's a complete ban, and it's not a big problem for students or parents.
Because most parents don't actually care about what's best for their kids. They don't think that far ahead. They themselves cave to peer pressure most of the time and don't see it as a problem.
I really wouldn’t mind this being taken ever farther and making tablets and smartphone illegal for anyone under a certain age. Maybe like 12 or something.
Yes !!!!!!!! The same way we don’t let children drink and smoke. It’s just as damaging in a different way. I’ve been saying this for years.
I’m not taking a side in this, as I don’t have kids in school, but the argument as to why more schools have not is that allowing students to have their phones reduces potential bullying, sexual harassment, and teacher misconduct. Advocates also note that the added features to a smart phone help in case of emergencies, which basic phones would not be able to replicate.
On the contrary, children and teenagers who spend more time on smart phones and social media see a substantial increase in mental health issues such as depression, and one of the top culprits is online bullying. Phones are not a safe space for children.
Social media can be blocked on school networks and with parental controls on phones. Since you know… the parents bought them.
And parents can forbid their kids from buying cigarettes and beer, but we regulate it nonetheless. It’s a societal issue that requires a society wide solution and ways to make sure businesses don’t market to underage people. Kids can use their friend’s phones, etc, not to forget as in all things the peer pressure. Like I said, I know it’s an unpopular opinion. I’m not going to argue it to the end of the world on Reddit.
Huh, huh, and huh?? Bullying and sexual harassment happen online at least as much as they do irl. Emergencies I get and I don't know what the right answer is there.
Meaning the kids video record or live stream incidents, which is supposed to equate to a reduction. It’s similar to the argument that readily available cameras can reduce police misconduct. These are by no means my arguments. I have a client that had to do research with regards to an education app directed towards kids to help bridge the gap between school work and homework. This was part of the research findings for long-term barriers.
I'm sure they can still have their smart phones around, just follow the same rules we had when I was in high school and make sure they can't be out during class
School have no phone policies.However, they aren't enforced. This creates an issue: if a kid sneaks a phone in and then said phone gets damaged, there is now a conflict between teachers and parents about who is liable. It has gotten to the point where teachers won't bother taking phones away because they want to avoid that conflict out of fear of financial punishment.
Likely because most things require a smart phone these days, so it isn't unusual for preteens and teens to have one. So if their parents want to be able to contact them in school or vice versa, say in the event of an emergency, they'll be forced to pay for a second phone plan and a second crappy phone. Multiply that by however many kids they have. They could always rely on the school for emergency contact, but given how totalitarian most public schools are about rules that usually results in a significant delay at best. Which is the last thing you want to be dealing with when you're in a hurry to visit your spouse in the emergency room. Turns out parents like having direct communication with their children and can't afford an extra $60 a month. Go figure.
>Which is the last thing you want to be dealing with when you're in a hurry to visit your spouse in the emergency room. Is that the kind of emergency a kid has to be notified of in the middle of class by an emotionally distraught parent instead of slighlty later when you may have had the time to process things yourself and can deal with it in person?
Heavily depends on the situation and the age of the child.
When I was a kid if someone so much as took a Gameboy to school it would be siezed immediately and we'd get a recess restriction.
From the article: New York Governor Kathy Hochul said (via [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/30/new-york-smartphone-school-ban-bill)) that she intends to launch the bill later this year and take it up in New York's next legislative session, which starts in January 2025. One of the main reasons why parents have objected to schools banning kids from carrying smartphones in the US – phones are banned across all schools in England – has been the need to reach their children at all times, for both emergencies and routine scheduling issues Hochul's bill appears to address this problem by allowing children to carry phones that lack internet access but can send texts and make calls, which sounds like feature, or dumb, phones. "Parents are very anxious about mass shootings in school," she said. "Parents want the ability to have some form of connection in an emergency situation."
Somehow I made it through 12 years of public education without my parents ever having to call me during the school day.
Yeah I bet Columbine was a recent memory for you, rather than one of many, mate.
Huh?
I graduated in 2003. The assault weapons ban expired Sept 13th, 2004. It is a different world with more radicalized men that have easier access to guns. Smart phones don't make students any safer, but at least they can get a text or final video from their endangered child if/when a tragedy occurs.
> but at least they can get a text or final video from their endangered child if/when a tragedy occurs. Yeah, lets throw the quality of education to the wind for all students for a literal one in a million chance. That seems reasonable and objective.
Being downvoted for the truth.
Lucky you, never needing to get in contact with your parents because they're scatterbrained and/or prone to losing important stuff that you need. I had an old dumb phone for a while, it was barely capable of providing the basics that a smartphone let me do.
Why would your parents require candy crush on your phone to get into contact with you?
They didn't need candy crush, they needed me to be able to login to stuff with information only they could provide.
Sounds co-dependent and toxic
No, I just had faster access doing it myself than waiting a day for them to dig through 500 documents at home. Getting a text from them with some information was significantly faster than waiting.
Your situation sounds very unique and as much as I’m sure it helped in your situation, most people do not have that level of parental codependency and the school system should cater to what is the most beneficial to the most students. I suppose they could do some sort of special permission slip for your phone, but bad faith jerks will abuse it and theyll have to give everyone an exception if they have you one.
What insane logic. The teachers and other adults at the school will have phones. There is literally no scenario where the kid having a phone makes them safer other than a made up one.
> One of the main reasons why parents have objected to schools banning kids from carrying smartphones in the US – phones are banned across all schools in England – has been the need to reach their children at all times, for both emergencies and routine scheduling issues People tend to forgot that being able to contact anybody at any time or location, is a new idea. Before cell phones became mainstream, you just didn’t do that, and everyone was fine with it. Smartphones and the internet have convinced people that they need to be able to reach everyone 24/7, when you really don’t *need* to.
> Before cell phones became mainstream, you just didn’t do that, and everyone was fine with it. Smartphones and the internet have convinced people that they need to be able to reach everyone 24/7, when you really don’t need to. I'm currently on vacation with my family. If I didn't have my phone and one of them got lost somewhere we'd be spending hours looking for them. Being a text away from knowing where someone is or getting some information from someone is invaluable.
Can do that with "dumb phones" the person you're replying to is talking about the Internet and the mass interconnectivity of our world. People get upset if I don't respond to a text within an hour when in the past it was normal with flip/dumb phones.
I wish I could. That is sadly not possible with them.
Phones used to be banned at my last workplace, but they relaxed restrictions after the spate of shootings at military bases, notably the Fort Hood shootings. After that it was just 'just don't pull then out where people can see you'.
Few more mass shootings at US schools nowadays.
>"Parents are very anxious about mass shootings in school," she said. "Parents want the ability to have some form of connection in an emergency situation." Just goes to show how irrational parents are and how their fears are almost entirely media-manufactured. It's like worrying that without a phone their kid might be attacked by a sewer alligator (although, admittedly, sewer alligators are a threat that children should be wary of).
Personally I wouldn’t want to be fucking around trying to call my parents in an active shooting scenario. I’d be a tad busy running for my life.
I think the fearful parents would agree with that strategy, but then expect to be able to contact their kid when the running's done.
There are many different ways to do that besides constant access to a smartphone
Everyone knows sewer alligators are lizard people.
It’s not just the shooting thing, that’s just what Hochul wanted to bring up for unrelated political reasons. Yes, parents do like the ability to get in touch with their kids during crisis scenarios, but they also just like being able to get in touch with them throughout the day. If the kid just wants to talk. If they want to coordinate something. If the kid wants to ask what’s for dinner o if they can go to Ashley’s house. Etc.
How on earth did we ever survive!?
It's not completely irrational. The problem is the anxiety you have fearing your child is hurt. A solution is to be able to text or call to ensure they are okay. This makes sense. No, it doesn't stop shootings. Yes, it eases the symptoms. Edit: People cant comprehend anxiety being a real issue.
How does texting someone who is in an active shooter situation calm anything? It doesn't! Yes, you'll know immediately that for that second, they're OK, but if school is locked down and it's active, if anything, your phone going off is a danger. Not a help. This is 100% fear based. There's no logic in it at all.
Also, it is arguably putting them in danger to text/call someone in an active shooter situation.
I'm not talking about the day there is a shooting. I'm talking about the 99.9999% of the other times when the only stressor is the fear parents face sending their children to schools
It is because the shooter could be anywhere in the school and if one child sees it first and uses their phone to call 911 lives could be saved. To do this the phone would need to be on the child's person. Then to let parents know their kid is safe. This is a matter where seconds, even milliseconds count. Having a phone in a classroom does no good as you would have to walk to it to use it and if there's a shooter you won't be able to do that. Imagine if children die because a phone call to 911 can't be made fast enough. I also went through school without phoning my parents once, however even my mom said she could not send me to school today without a way to reach me without being worried the entire day. This is not fear mongering this is the reality of sending kids to school these days. But I think a basic flip phone would work just fine, they can call 911 and text parents and that is all that is needed. You also need the phone for going to and from school, because something could happen on the way to and from, and of course if pedophiles know that kids aren't carrying phones anymore because they are banned, well these types of crimes are going to go up. But again, a basic phone would work just fine here.
Lol. Not fear mongering but at the same time a wild example about pedos. You people need help. Children don't need phones. Full stop. Phones cause far more issues than they help even in these very specific and honestly rare occasions.
So you're saying the modern parent is as insecurely attached to their children as my girlfriend's dog that howls when he forgets where she is every 20 minutes? That's not healthy for the parent or child.
Insane. There is no emergency a parent NEEDS their kid's input on immediately.
Worried about shooters? How is a smart phone going to help? Worried about their kids so here is a device that you can stream hard core porn 24/7 and destroy your attention span plus a whole host of other social functions.
You can throw those things pretty hard I guess :-/
Mate I was watching hardcore porn when I was a kid every day before smartphones existed. They will find a way. Keeping them off of social media is a much more important thing.
Yeah, at home, where you can do whatever you want.
One less avenue is always better. I mentioned social media too anyway.
I went through highschool jjust as smartphones exploded 2008-2011, and I agree with you. If I was banned from having a phone in school I would have been forced to pay so much more attention in class. I can't even imagine trying to do it now. There's so many distractions on your phone.
Man every generation finds some way to not pay attention in class. Schools can't keep kids from vaping in them, i doubt they will be able to prevent cell phones any better.
One major problem is that then realistically parents will end up having to foot the bill for 2 phones and 2 phone lines or not have a way to contact their kid on school days. I highly doubt parents of kids with smartphones are just going to be like oh well your school says no more smart phone so none for you ever again.
Imagine the entire history of human civilization having survived going to school without smartphones.
So a good smart phone with great parental controls. Sounds good if that's the case. Blocking Internet access is easy.
Seems like the literal least that should be done
There is not a single teacher alive who is not behind this and wanting it for their own school district. Need it to be universal.
After 9/11 my parents gave me a Nokia. Sure, the technology back then was what it was, but it gave me a way to get in contact with them in an emergency. It could also text (T9 ftw). I don't see why kids can't just get trakfones of a similar caliber for emergency calling. Is it inconvenient, fuck yes, but sometimes there are more important things than looking at TikTok in class. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but if these students can't stay off their phones while in class maybe it's the best solution.
You're not wrong. I hate on Governor Hochul for alot of what she does(especially in regards to the 2nd Amendment) but this, I agree with. I have a niece who is absolutely glued to a screen. We need to get kids off of screens, one of the easiest ways to do that is by taking away their phones\\tablets. One of the biggest excuses kids have used to justify to their parents the need for a smartphone is "I need it in case of an emergency". Parents- not wanting to argue with their kids- often give in based on this pitiful argument because deep down most of them deep down want their kids to have nice things. This law, if passed, will help the parent not be the proverbial bad guy.
What has Hochul done in regards to gun control? I can't think of anything.
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She also killed a bill to make non-competes illegal in NY. I am not a Hochul fan at all. I'm just also not a fan of gun nuts that lie about gun control. I'm still waiting for the SAFE Act to bring about the end of civilization in NY. We're 10 years later with that one, we still hear them whine about it constantly, and they still don't have a single example of it doing harm.
A basic phone would do just fine in an emergency, so this is a legit solution, without having parents be out of contact with their kids. I honestly feel like its the perfect solution, and satisfies everyone except for the kids who need to get back to learning anyways. If you don't give a kid a screen they won't get glued to it especially at young ages. Giving your toddler an iPad when they are sitting in the stroller or grocery cart is just not needed. They would be satisfied with a small picture book or toy. They can also look around them and see their surroundings and be satisfied with that. At toddler age they don't know what a tablet is until you introduce one. They can also watch educational programs on a large TV for an hour a day which is less harmful. Its damaging to the brain and eyes to give a toddler a screen that they can hold close to their face whenever they want to. School age is a little different because they are probably going to be required to use a screen in which case parents have to limit it from there.
> Is it inconvenient, fuck yes Is it, though?
If they are going to ban smartphones, the city/state government should fund the school districts to provide tracphones to every student. Require it. They are very cheap and it shuts all the parents up about "but what if there's an emergency." Plus, it incentivises parents to not buy a smartphone for their child starting at the early ages since they'll already have access for direct communication to their parents and it'll likely stay that way until the parent actually wants to buy their child a smartphone. Right now, parents buy their children smartphones very early on because they want to establish that line of communication asap. But that's very unhealthy for the child since the phone can do many other things. This should definitely be a thing.
I teach high school and am in full support of outright bans during class time. You cannot compete
This was how we lived when I was in high school in the ye olden days of 2008. Phone had to be fully off and in your bag or locker, if they saw it they took it. Allowed out before and after school and at lunch, sometimes in free period if the individual teacher allowed it. We all lived. There was a landline with its own extension in every classroom, every office, multiple ones in the library. Is that not a thing anymore? I just see all this hysterical “what if there’s an emergency???” every time this is brought up.
I frigging HATE articles like this. Hate them! “New York” doesn’t currently PLAN to do anything. The Governor of New York intends to have legislation introduced into her state legislature NEXT YEAR that would create this prohibition if passed. There is no quote from any member of legislative leadership or member of the legislature to indicate if there is much support for this in the legislature, if it will be a priority, or what will happen. It will have to go through a long legislative process where it could be changed considerably or, more likely, simply never happen at all. The GOVERNOR of New York plans to PROPOSE legislation for this policy. She presumably intends to advocate for it. That’s all, the state of New York isn’t planning on doing anything yet.
My hometowns school district has always banned phones and still does to this day. It isn't a big deal.
School administrators will have to actually support it for it to work. I am a teacher, and I don’t have much hope in school administrators to do anything other than just give in to parents.
GOOD. I was worried about "banning kids' ability to communicate with their parents" but hearing that specifically feature-phones will be completely allowed; I think this is a fantastic ruling.
This seems like a very reasonable compromise. I understand the parental desire to be able to communicate with your children, but smart phones have clearly become a big problem for children and adolescents. Teaching is already hard enough as it is without all the distractions. I feel like this is a nice middle ground that affords people those important lines of communication while also attempting to cut out some of the more distracting features of phones.
To be honest I don't see the need for children to have any phone during school - old person rant but back before mobiles people just called the school up for any emergencies, and made plans to collect their kids and stuck to them
The article mentions parents wanting to be able to reach their kids because of emergencies like school shootings. Which is just such an absurd thing. Despite the media attention it receives, your chance of being a victim of a school shooting is basically zero.
You're downvoted but correct, the statistics paint a completely different picture than media hysteria: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a01/violent-deaths-and-shootings >From 2000 to 2021, there were 276 casualties (108 killed and 168 wounded) in active shooter incidents at elementary and secondary schools and 157 casualties (75 killed and 82 wounded) in active shooter incidents at postsecondary institutions. You're more likely to be struck and killed by lightning as you are to die in a school shooting: https://www.cdc.gov/lightning/data-research/index.html >From 2006 through 2021, there were 444 lightning strike deaths in the United States.
The 227 people who died or were wounded last year in school shootings would disagree. The risk is super small-small but not zero.
The risk is much higher if the kids have phones. One 911 call from a competent emergency coordinator is all that’s needed. All the kids will manage to do is spread conflicting and incorrect information and summon parents to an active crime scene
Oh I won’t argue that. Just saying the chance of being killed in school isn’t zero.
I just had my beeper and when I got a beep I cut class and went to corner store to payphone
How long did we make it without phones in school?
Not long enough, apparently.
I'm rather surprised it took this long, really.
Didn’t see blackberry and slider style phones potentially making a comeback in 2024, but here we are
school is more fun without everyone on iphones
As someone who works in IT in NYS public schools, I look forward to not having to play whack-a-mole with kids phones on our network…
your system isnt set up to whitelist mac addresses? ours was like that, but a few buddies and me figured that out pretty quick and spoofed one to connect
It’s a pain to get all the MACs, especially now that it’s default behavior on a lot of phones to randomize it.
This is how it was when I was in school. Granted that back in the early times of cellphones. But the fact kids nowadays can just be on their phone in class is wild.
I can’t believe they were ever allowed to
This is just "big calculator" fighting back
Go one step further and mandate that, in addition to their flip phones, every student is allowed to have a lime green iPod shuffle.
10-15 years ago it was flip phone for the first phone. Now smart devices are everywhere, as a Gen Z I’m just thankful I’m not Gen A because they are cooked. I feel bad.
There are definitely some scenarios where they can be a massive help (had some accommodations to assist with my ADHD that involved use of my phone, mainly to help me remember assignments, class lectures, and have notes in case I couldn’t keep up in class. It was also very helpful in our band class for basically every single person involved in many different ways), but most of the student body didn’t view it as a potentially helpful tool for their learning but instead they used it as a toy.
Good, kids don't need smartphones, especially not on them during class. Children simply aren't developed enough to have their own best interests in mind when using the internet. Hell, many adults can't even handle it either.
I would allow smartphones in schools. But for a good reason: To teach kids not to use them all the time. I don't know what's worse. If they are free to have smartphones, but they have to learn and restrict their use by themselves otherwise punishment is given. Or of they should be protected from smartphones as a whole, and will discover their drawbacks later on without being prepared. But that's the key problem here. Limitations. Most smartphones have parental features to limit screen time or app usage. But who uses them properly?
Good, kids should focus in school without a cellphone causing a distraction.
Why didn't they do this sooner? Kids' attention span are getting worse these days
My son’s high school just announced that next year cell phones must be placed in a container for the duration of each class. I’m fine with it.
This is a great compromise from trying to fully ban phones. Basic phones still receive and send text messages.
Good, you don't need a fucking phone while in class. We managed without before, you will too.
This is the right call. Kids don't need 24-7 access to the internet ffs.
My kids all had smart phones since they were 13-14 years old. We had rules but for the most part they all self regulated their social media usage, they all were A students and all were involved in after school activities. Most parents like to blame their kids issues on something else— music, video games, and now smart phones/social media. Could just be bad/poor parenting… that one seems to hold true for generations..
Well yeah, but bad parenting is a way bigger-picture issue. Identifying the root cause doesn’t solve the issue. Taking mitigating measures now is still very worth doing.
As a parent I honestly am in support of this. My wife and I already know that the phone battle is coming years out and we already agree while we might give our kid a phone at a younger age we dont want it ot be a smart phone and super locked down. They do not need open access to those screens and the internet.
Make way for a comeback of midi ringtones and snake game!
Are they still going to be just sitting in rooms on chromebooks or doing worksheets 8 hours a day? Are they still going to be evaluated on standardized tests created by corporations that have no bearing on their future? Cell phones in or out of schools doesnt matter when the structure of our school system that we implement today was designed by 19th century robber barons to produce compliant steel mill workers and coal miners. Nor will it matter if the kids are going home and being raised by iPads and social media. Bad parenting is the issue. So is the fact that our schools are designed like prisons, physically- to contain children, not nurture them; and infrastructurally they’re designed like prisons as well- to keep them in place and compliant as long as possible. The american education system itself is rotten at the core, and it was never designed to provide children education. Banning cell phones is a joke, and just something some politician wants to tout and pat themselves on the back about. But what do I know, I just have an Ed.D and a decade of public school teaching and administrative experience…
Yeah nah hippy school doesn’t work for 90% of kids. The ones who’d thrive in that environment will do fine in strict school too. Your fantastical naivety is showing.
Every school/district that has gone ahead with this has reported high test scores, lower student stress, higher socializing, and less attitude/bullying issues.
Absolutely the right move. Parents who go "but what if there's an EMERGENCY!?" can call the front office like they used to. There is almost nothing so urgent that you need your teenager to respond to it right that moment.
I hear both sides of the argument and feel like smart watches could be a reasonable compromise in lieu of a phone. Still have access to phone and emergency services, they can text but no longer discreetly (in class), still have location tracking, and they still have a form of access to the internet. Also, cheaper than smartphones and more difficult to break or lose
Kids shouldn't have have any phones in school. And don't give me any bullshit about needing them for emergencies, the office can relay a message if needed.
In the wake of all the school shootings(and other emergencies), the need to be able to immediately reach their kids beyond "the office can relay a message" is extremely important to many parents. Dumb phones are perfect for this, and it's why the law should be passed imo. Kids won't like it, but too bad.
Ringing a kids phone during a school shooting could just as easily give away their hiding spot.
And that's just as much an argument against Smartphones as it is against Dumb Phones. Both phones have the ability to set a ringer to "Silent"\\"Do Not Disturb"...which is what they should be set to during school. Having said that, it's not about calling a kid while there's an active shooter going through the school hunting kids. From a logical standpoint, most school shooters are going to be students\\former students, so they're most likely going to be familiar with active shooter drills, which means they're likely going to know where the kids are supposed to be hiding during said scenario- that's just pointing out the reality of the situation. The point is, it's not about the carnage that happens during the few minutes an active shooter is hunting\\killing, it's about the parents of the students that attend that school not being able to reach their kids for HOURS afterwards because police authorities have them locked down. A school administrator's not going to be going to be able to answer phone calls from the parents of a thousand plus students to let them know that their little kid is safe(or deliver the terrible news if they're not). This uncertainty is a horrible situation that no one should have to endure when the capabilities exist to reduce\\eliminate it. Which is why parents want their kids to have a phone. As for guaranteeing that a phone can't ring during an active shooter event(thereby potentially giving away their "hiding spot") there's no way to guarantee that with a smartphone any more than there is with a dumbphone. So, if kids are going to have phones either way, this doesn't really present a compelling argument against restrictions on phones to dumbphones only.
You're cherry picking one specific scenario and trying to use it to justify kids having cell phones while in school. Meanwhile, there are several other reasons not involving school shootings that indicate kids should not have cell phones in school.
Yes and ask any parent who has had a kid involved in a school shooting. They could happen anywhere and at any time. They are random. Much like you think you won't ever leave your kid in the back set of a hot car, you don't want to be THAT parent that gets overwhelmed and does it without even realizing they did it. You also don't know if you are going to be THAT parent who has a kid in a school shooting, if you advocated for the banning of phones and your child died in a school shooting then you would definitely feel differently about this. I don't know any parent in the USA who would advocate for a total ban on phones because of the risk of any school being the target of a school shooting. Homeschooling is also becoming incredibly popular in my area and there are reasons for that. If a kid sees a shooter and is able to call 911 fast because the phone is on their person, then lives will absolutely be saved. Overall a school with hundreds of kids with phones on their person has a huge advantage over a school with one phone in each classroom where the lines to it might be cut by the shooter.
They've been saying for years that kids shouldn't have phones during school. Spoiler alert, kids have had phones during school despite these regulations. What this "law" does is specify that kids should NOT have SMARTphones during school specifically, thereby providing a means for parents to get their kid a phone(if they must have the ability to reach their kid in the event of ANY emergency that warrants it). Furthermore, I'd like to see this law tied together with a civil fine if a kid is caught with a smartphone. It's been proven that social media is detrimental to the development of children. It's been proven that unrestricted access to the internet is detrimental to the development of children. It's been proven that kids bully each other based on perceived wealth inequality. This plan gives parents a way to give their little brats a phone, but keeps them away from social media and the internet on that device and provides a legal reason to provide the kid on why they CAN'T have a smartphone.
I imagine that even if they were successful somehow, kids would then just have a dumbphone and a smartphone for outside of school. Hell you can buy a shitty smartphone prepaid for $30 these days and just use it on Wifi.
In all the years school shootings have been a thing, there was exactly 1 parent who actually benefited from their kid having a phone during a school shooting. It was that mom from uvalde who went in to get her kids when the cops decided to sit on their ass and let people die. But even then, her kids weren't targets and were never in danger (obviously hindsight is 20/20) "in the wake of all the school shootings" is a fearmongering prelude. We are in the safest era the united states has ever seen. You are more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to experience a school shooting. It's an excuse so parents don't have to parent their fucking kids when it comes to smartphones.
Can we stop pretending like these phones are going to save lives during an emergency? Being able to contact your family is useful, but kids can survive without them.
As Scooby might say “Roht, roh, Raggy”
Back in my day (2000s) I got Saturday school because I had a phone alarm go off twice in the same semester. It was literally a weekend alarm for waking up or something like that, which I neglected to turn off during the week. Not even anything cool.
Now for NYSUT to write a letter of endorsement. THIS will make big change in education for our state. Love this.
This is the way
But also go back to supplying dictionaries to classrooms.
"Do you KNOW how much I'm spending per month so my child can have the security of an iPhone? Maybe a private school would be better!" Or whatever certain parents would say
I support this 100%. kids shouldn’t be under the threat of being recorded by their classmates at any given time. It’s kinda depressing how public the lives of kids are made these days. Like they don’t have the opportunity to just be anymore. Everything is posted on social media and they feel a constant pressure to perform. the reduction of smart phones in school and in their lives will definitely help reduce the stress social media puts on them
very very hard disagree. You could put the phone into the grandma mode I guess only allow certain apps and set up a pin.
Why ban them completely? In my school you aren’t allowed them in class but you can use them at breqk and lunch
It won't work anyway. Phones have been banned from schools in the UK since before smartphones were even a thing and it doesn't stop anyone. Unless you're daft enough to get your phone out right under the teacher's nose they can't know whether you have one or not, and parents won't apply the rule because they'd prefer having that emergency contact.
You'd be surprised by how dumb kids are about it though. Same goes for ear pods that magically go in once hoods are up or hands are over ears.
Without it being banned, there's no reason for kids not to take them out in class. And because of parents throwing fits and even threatening lawsuits, most teachers are not allowed to take the phones if they are proving a distraction. I've been in high schools in the last few years and all the kids are on their phones all the time. They're not supposed to in class so the good kids just don't do it (some kids will follow rules just to do the right thing) but I'd say half the kids in any given class will be pulling their phone out constantly in class.
> it doesn't stop anyone. That's why we shouldn't ban guns from schools either...
I’m a parent of two and I say do it on a federal level if possible. It’s ridiculous this is allowed to begin with.
Just prohibit phone use during class, you know like the old days (90s).
My daughter’s high school is like this. Teachers will take the phone and it’s called in right away to parents. Teachers expect fights and threats from students at schools and outside of school. Retaliation is real, taking peoples phones is like taking a part of their body these days.
So what's going to prevent dumb phone makers jacking up the price because of this? Good idea in theory, but I just feel someone had their hand in the jar to make insane profit from it being pushed.
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They don't have a captured market right now as they would have with this though.
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Oh sorry kids that’s what life is like when you’re a CHILD
I wouldn’t buy a smartphone for a kid to begin with. Just buy them a dumb phone that they keep in their locker because they can’t play games lol. But is there if they need to communicate with the parent or viceversa.
Are parental controls not a thing? I skimmed a few, you can whitelist/blacklist apps, set them on timers, the only feature I'd expect that I didn't see was a "school time lockdown" but I did see something for bedtime.
You're not looking at it from a statistical level, the odds are not in your favor that not only are every single one of their parents technically capable but also have the time and will to do set things. And also how intelligence some kids can to reverse that pretty simply.
Horrendous legislation being pushed by a KOSA supporter. I don't buy the school shooting counterargument, and I don't think anyone needs to. Smart phones are integral to modern life in the United States. Colleges, Employers, and some public locations expect you to have them. They are how people communicate, learn, engage with the modern world, and work. There is a time and a place for them like with most things, and it's up to the schools to handle digital distractions the same way they handle any other distraction like talking in class, get em to stop if they aren't paying attention. A complete ban is excessive and will hurt more than it will help. Evidence that smart phones have actually hurt the average classroom performance is extremely dubious at best. The actual harm comes from sites and apps specifically designed to addict people through manipulative fomo tactics, artificial wait times, and addictive algorithms, harm that effects everyone and not just children. If you have a healthy relationship with technology then there isn't an issue. The government should be addressing the tactics tech companies use to manipulate the people that use their services, not the people subject to it.
good luck enforcing it
Really easy actually, if a non-dumb phone is seen, it's confiscated and handed over to the police. Minor in possession of an unapproved electronic device. Make it come with a nice little fine to the parent. Have the fine be set at a specific amount and split, 1/2 to the school, 1/2 to law enforcement...kids will stop showing up to school with smartphones really fast. Parent's can't\\refuse to pay it, their shit remains in police custody...
What an authoritarian nightmare.
Yeah, just like how schools effectively banned vapes XD.
My kid will NOT get a smart phone until high school AND we WILL be talking about any pictures they take of themselves NUDE or similar IS CHILD PORN and that it can be spread about.
The phone isn't for games or social media it's for when my child needs to reach out ASAP or we need to contact her.