Recently, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Distraction-Free Schools Law, and presented details on a bell-to-bell statewide policy to ban cell phone usage in public and charter schools. You can view the official announcement from Gov. Hochul here. The district plans on being in compliance with Gov. Hochul’s mandate by adopting a policy by the August 1, 2025 deadline. The mandate requires districts to implement a cell phone policy for student cell phone usage during the school day. Highlights of the mandate are:
- No use of “Internet-enabled devices” during the school day. Those devices include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, or any device capable of accessing Internet content.
- Internet enabled devices are to be stored in a secure location to be determined by the school. They will not be able to be used during instructional and non-instructional times such as between classes, cafeteria or study halls.
- Under the proposed policy, there are exemptions for student(s) ability to access their devices. The following situations will be allowed under the proposed policy on a case-by-case basis, such as: medical needs, translation services or otherwise determined by school administrators.
Additional details will be provided to families during the month of August.