ALBANY — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is eyeing restrictions on cellphones in the classroom for the next school year, teachers union and PTA leaders told Newsday.

The Democratic governor recently met with a group of education advocates to discuss a proposal to prohibit the use of cellphones during the school day, which is expected to be part of Hochul’s State of the State address in January, said Melinda Person, president of the New York State United Teachers, and Kyle Belokopitsky, executive director of the New York State Parent Teacher Association.

Kara Fesolovich, a spokeswoman for Hochul, wrote in an email that the governor will unveil her budget this winter but did not elaborate further.

The move comes as parents, educators and lawmakers look to decrease cellphone screen time and social media use for students in an effort to protect their mental health and increase opportunities for learning and socialization.

"We do think there’s a need for state leadership on this because creating change one school district at a time might take too long given the very real impact, the negative impact, of phones on our students' mental health and learning," said Person, who heads the state’s largest teachers union, representing nearly 700,000 members.

The prohibition, if passed, would take effect next September, Person and Belokopitsky said, adding that they support and applaud the move. 

Person and Belokopitsky said they spoke with Hochul about giving districts local control over how to implement the restriction. For example, some districts may want to use special lockers or cellphone pouches, while others may order students to shut their phones off and put them in their backpacks. There likely would be exceptions — for example, when cellphones are used as teaching tools such as in photography classes, or if students needed them to monitor their insulin, Person and Belokopitsky said. 

"The devil is always in the details," Belokopitsky said, adding that while she hasn’t seen the language yet, she supports the concept. "We fully expect it to be in the State of the State," she said, referring to the governor’s annual policy speech in January that lays out her proposed agenda for the year. The State of the State proposals are traditionally included in the governor's budget, which is negotiated with the State Legislature.

Flexibility, buy-in

In July, Hochul kicked off a statewide listening tour to hear from parents, students and educators about addressing cellphone use in schools.

 "We can help our young people succeed in the classroom by ensuring they’re learning and growing — not clicking and scrolling," Hochul said in a release announcing the listening tour. "That’s why I’m working with all stakeholders across the state to develop effective solutions on smartphones that help protect our kids’ mental health and deliver the best results for our schools."

Person and Belokopitsky said Hochul spoke with education advocacy groups ahead of time to start getting the word out, as the implementation would require community discussion and buy-in. There also would have to be discussion to ensure parents know that if they need their child they can call the school, or if there was an emergency, the school would contact them, Belokopitsky said.

She added that the parents need to learn how to not contact their children during school hours. That's particularly true in emergency situations where cellphones can be a distraction and students need to listen to teachers and staff for their own safety, she said. 

There would need to be flexibility to allow for cellphone use in some areas, so students have a place they can go if they do need to contact their parents, she said. 

The restrictions would also help teachers, because students are more engaged without the distraction of cellphones, and they wouldn't have to spend 10 to 15 minutes of their instruction time collecting cellphones, Person said. 

While the state Education Department did not explicitly comment on the new policy, it is working with educators, parents, guardians and students to develop a “robust plan to ensure students have the skills and tools to navigate an increasingly digital world while using that technology to enhance and support in-classroom learning,” spokesman J.P. O’Hare said in an email.

The department suggests teaching media literacy in classrooms. “Educating students on responsible cellphone use and media literacy is essential as it prepares them for digital etiquette and responsibility,” O’Hare wrote.

Assemb. Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx), who chairs the Assembly education committee, said he thinks the state should take action on cellphones in schools.

“What I would recommend would be that every school district should develop their own policy,” said Benedetto, a former teacher. Districts should consult with "all players" including teachers, administrators, students and others to come up with a policy that best fits the district, he said.

 “I’m really against things like a blanket policy of no phones in schools at all throughout the state,” he told Newsday, adding that he’s against a “one-size-fits-all type of edict.”

Currently about 70% of school districts have a cellphone policy, but not all are total restrictions during the school day, Belokopitsky said. 

While there is some pushback, especially from students, it gets better in subsequent years as they and their parents see the benefits, she said. "The 2025-26 school year is going to be a little rocky, but sometimes rocky at the end of the day ends up being a beautiful beach."