Following New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent decision to cut out cellphones and smartwatches from all K-12 public schools, New York’s new internet-enabled device ban, often simply referred to as the “phone ban,” has reconstructed day-to-day life for over two million students. It is now legally required that they keep their phones “off and away for the day,” meaning these devices are not only banned during classroom instruction, but also not allowed in the halls or even during free periods. 

When comparing the phone ban to the prior phone caddie policy used in each classroom, teachers have differing opinions. SHS Math teacher Samuel Greenberg favors the consistency of the current law, commenting that “different teachers had different rules with the phone caddies,” and not all teachers chose to follow it. Similarly, SHS Chemistry teacher Anna Buonanno shows a preference for the ban remarking, “the caddy was annoying to monitor.” 

On the other hand, SHS Science Research teacher Dylan Prendergast finds that the new policy also requires heavy monitoring. So far, he has had to confiscate approximately 10 phones from students in the hallways. However, he isn’t a fan of doing so, expressing that “it would be nice if there were a different school-wide policy that would ensure students wouldn’t have their phones on them so that [teachers] didn’t have to actively police things, but unfortunately, the law was rushed so quickly that it made it difficult for the school to be able to implement anything else.” 

These weren’t the only drawbacks teachers mentioned. SHS Orchestra teacher Amedee Williams noted that “there are moments when students use their phones for educational reasons–submitting their homework by scanning or pulling up their schedules,” which they are now unable to do. Looking at how the law has impacted specific subjects, Greenberg shared that he can no longer have students use Desmos, an online graphing calculator, on their phones, which has a higher quality than the website version on computers. Similarly, Buonanno has found that it is difficult to play a Kahoot or have students take pictures of their labs without a phone. 

Yet, teachers also see the benefits. Buonanno has already noticed some subtle changes. “Kids are now talking to each other during frees again,” she explains. Moreover, she adds that “anything that helps us focus more on being in the moment is a good thing.” She has made it clear that students are not allowed to pull out their phones in the classroom, even though she knows it would make getting through classwork slightly easier. To her, it’s key to “practice what we preach” and continue to maintain consistency with the ban in order to see any long-term improvements. 

Likewise, Greenberg believes that “everyone, at least to me, is on board with it–my students are following the ban, and I really haven’t had any issues.” Additionally, Williams expects that there will be benefits, just that they will be gradual. “It’s going to take some time, but we’ll get there,” he said. “The freshman class doesn’t know anything else. I’ve never seen a freshman on their phone.” He contends that as the current upperclassmen graduate, incoming students will view the ban as normal as opposed to restrictive.

Ultimately, teachers seem hopeful that this new policy has the potential to revamp focus among students and believe that, in the long run, its benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. But only time will tell.