ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York schools are implementing new “bell-to-bell” cellphone restrictions this fall, requiring all students to put away their internet devices for the entire school day. To that end, the state government launched a new website on Wednesday with guidance for schools.
New York set aside $13.5 million in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget to help schools buy phone storage, making us the largest state to enact a ban. All public school districts, charter schools, and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) programs now have until August 1 to publish their site-specific policies. New York State United Teachers also posted a toolkit for districts, which is available to read at the bottom of this story.
The state’s new webpage outlines the ban’s requirements, exceptions, and guidance for developing district-level policies, which schools are supposed to develop through consultation with local parents, students, and employee unions. The policy has to be clearly posted and accessible online, in person, and in multiple languages.
Each school’s policy is supposed to improve student focus and mental health. The bell-to-bell restriction means no smartphones, tablets, or smartwatches on school grounds, with exceptions for those not connected to the internet. Schools will also still be issuing their own devices, like laptops or tablets, for lessons. And exemptions for student use would include managing their health care and translations if needed.
The vaunted distraction-free learning environment promoted by supporters of the ban—Governor Kathy Hochul chief among them—is supposed to help students think critically, stay present, and build academic and social skills. Their personal, internet-enabled tech has to be stored away so they’re free from notifications and social media. Access to phones is even restricted during lunch or free periods, meant to foster an environment with consistent expectations and also prevent cyberbullying.
Keeping devices in backpacks would not be considered acceptable, but lockers would be OK, so long as it’s baked into the school plan to effectively limit access. Locked bins, cabinets, or pouches have a green light under the policy.
Schools are not supposed to suspend students over violating the ban. And schools still have to give parents at least one way to contact students and send notice about how to do so before the school year starts or whenever a new student registers. Contact methods can include the school’s main office, a school-issued email, or a pay phone on campus. Schools also have to report every year on enforcement and the demographics of disciplined students.
Districts that implemented bell-to-bell policies report better student engagement in class, better social interactions between classes, fewer social media conflicts, less anxiety, and less time spent repeating concepts. “Our halls are lively again, conversation has come back, and I have witnessed firsthand their engagement improve almost immediately,” said David Rounds, president of the Bethlehem Central Teachers’ Association.
But some students already under the ban complained about increased restlessness or difficulty focusing, with teachers reporting more requests to check phones, more visits to bathrooms or nurses offices, false claims about emergencies, and potentially false claims about emergencies. “As they spoke to me, I realized it was really their anxiety talking, because they had gone so many years and not been separated from their devices. It was really scary for them,” Suffern High School Principal Paul Adler said. “Sometimes, we do need to be the adults in the room and say, ‘It’s going to be OK.'”
An April 2025 study published in “The Lancet Regional Health – Europe” found that “increases in smartphone and social media time were associated with increases in anxiety, depression, and problematic social media use.” Still, restrictive school policies “are not associated with an overall reduction in the time adolescents spend on phones and social media.” Either way, the study concluded that there was “no evidence to support that restrictive school phone policies, in their current forms, have a beneficial effect on adolescents’ mental health and well-being or related outcomes.”
Another analysis published in the August 2024 “Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools” found “little to no conclusive evidence that ‘one-size-fits-all’ mobile phone bans in schools resulted in improved academic outcomes, mental health and well-being, and reduced cyberbullying.”
But the policy is about supporting childhood, not being “anti-technology,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “We’re giving students seven hours a day free from distractions so they can focus on learning, access their creativity, and make real human connections,” she said.
Take a look at NYSUT’s guidance below:
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
