New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that when school starts again, people will need to “detox” from their cellphones.
The governor told reporters that schools are ready to go phone-free after a group meeting with students, parents, union leaders, and Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who is in charge of the city’s school system. This came after New York passed a law that bans phones during the whole school day.
But kids might not be.
Hochul said at the Walton High School Campus in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, “Change is always hard.” “Cell phones haven’t been allowed in schools for ten years.” The kids will have a hard time. We need to get the parents ready for what will likely be a “detoxing period” for them.
“I tell parents to do the same things I did with my own kids,” she said. “They stay up until 9:30 or 10 in the summer.” In September, they go to bed at 8 o’clock. In this case, you start weaning them earlier in bed. I’m telling parents the same thing to help get their kids ready for this.
“But I’m fully confident that a huge amount of work has gone into getting the school districts ready.”
Because of the new rule, school districts have until August 1 to finish and post a policy that keeps students away from their phones while they are at school, even during lunch and study halls. The Panel for Educational Policy, which is like the city’s school board except that most of its members are chosen by the mayor, will vote on the new rules next Wednesday.
Then it will be up to the schools to follow the rule, which says that phones must be turned off and kept in a way decided by the teachers.
The chancellor shared data on Wednesday that showed more than half of city schools already take cellphones or limit them in some way. So far, hundreds of principals have answered the “readiness” poll, and she said that the school system is also working with schools to make implantation plans based on their sizes and how they do things now.
There may still be a lot of work to be done before some schools are ready for September.
Officials said Wednesday that about $4 million of the state’s $13.5 million investment will go to schools in New York City. The city has set aside an extra $25 million to help principals enforce the rule.
Mark Rampersant, who is in charge of the system’s school safety and climate initiatives, told the Daily News that schools have recently been told about the available funds. This money can be used for any costs related to putting the new rules into place. He thought requests would come “shortly.”
There are also still questions about who will be able to use their phones at school and how kids who aren’t on campus during the school day will be able to get to them. The suggested citywide policy says that schools must let students use the phone for medical, disability, or caregiving reasons as long as a school counselor agrees to the exception. After being asked by The News, though, education officials didn’t give many information.
Aviles-Ramos said, “We’re getting feedback.” There must be a way for exceptions to be made, and the law makes that clear. But we are working with families, teachers, and managers to make that happen.
But one thing is certain: the new rules will be put in place soon.
“This is happening,” the chancellor said. “If we do it little by little during the school year, we will miss the moment. We are going to be ready on the first day because habits are formed from the first day.
