New York’s schools are seeing more student engagement and increased teaching efficiency as a result of the state’s new bell-to-bell ban on cellphones in the classroom, according to a survey released Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
According to the survey, which was distributed to November and received more than 350 responses from school administrators, 92% of respondents said the transition to the policy, implemented at the beginning of this academic school year, went smoothly. It also found 83% of respondents reported more positive classrooms and better student engagement, and 75% reported an improvement in teachers’ ability to teach effectively.
The governor’s office said the survey included feedback from a principal in the Finger Lakes that said “this has been a great initiative. The state mandate coupled with district autonomy over how to implement — i.e. storage method and consequences for infraction — is important.”
A district administrator in the North Country said the policy “has resulted in so many positives for our students, specifically during classes and lunch. Students are making eye contact with adults and peers, they’re organizing games that involve thinking and problem solving, and they’re engaging with one another instead of their phones. These are all hard skills that develop during school and are vital in the workforce later in life. I could not be happier for our students, staff and our school community.”
“Our kids are finding greater success in the classroom when they’re focused on learning, not scrolling,” Hochul, who pushed for a bell-to-bell policy, said in a statement.
The bell-to-bell ban was negotiated as part of the state budget passed by lawmakers in May.