Cell Phones In Schools:
As the school year begins, parents have received notices that various school districts are banning or limiting smart phones in their children’s schools. Governor Hochul has also discussed pushing toward a statewide policy on cellphones in school starting in January, with a series of roundtable discussions being held by the governor’s office to get opinions from the public.[1] Governor Hochul was quoted stating “It seems to me that the district-by-district approach does not work.”[2]
This year “at least eight states have passed laws, issued orders or adopted rules to curb phone use among students during school hours[3].” These states include Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
Has a Similar Cell Phone Ban Been Challenged In New York Before?
In 2006, parents and guardians opposed a cellphone ban that was occurring in New York City public schools. Price v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 51 A.D.3d 277, 855 N.Y.S.2d 530 (2008). The state trial court upheld the ban, as did the appellate court. However, the ban was lifted in 2015 due to a policy change after a change of mayor[4].
What Are the Penalties For Cell Phone Use If The School Prohibits It?
Some schools are using preventative measures such as lockable bags or locked cell phone containers where phones are held until the end of the school day. Some schools are allowing students to keep their phones in their backpacks but confiscating phones until the school day ends if students are seen using them. At this time, the consequences do not seem to be uniform, but rather dependent on the individual school or district.
Can My Child Be Suspended For Using Their Cell Phone If The School Prohibits It?
Schools are given power by the New York State’s Education Law to suspend a student who is determined to be insubordinate, disorderly, violent, disruptive, or whose conduct otherwise endangers the safety, morals, health, or welfare of others. Therefore, if the school was to find that the disregard for the cell phone rule fell into any of the above categories, a student could potentially face suspension. Further if the student was using the phone in a way that violated a combination of rules such as using a banned phone for cyberbullying suspension could likely be a consequence.[5] Each school also has a detailed code of conduct that identifies the range of penalties and offenses punishable by suspension. Whether or not the suspension is proper will depend on a variety of factors including what reasoning is given for the suspension and the rules in the school’s code of conduct.
[1] See Esme Fox, NY Students Banned From Using Phones First Hated, Then Loved It, Bloomberg, (July 17, 2024), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-17/new-york-schools-that-banned-mobile-phones-see-student-grades-rise
[2] See Jillian Jorgensen, NYC Continues to Consider School Cell Phone Ban, Spectrum News 1, (July 17, 2024), https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/education/2024/07/17/nyc-considers-school-cell-phone-ban
[3] The Daily, The New York Times, The Push To Ban Phones In Schools, (September 3, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/03/podcasts/the-daily/phone-ban-school.html
[4] See Kate Taylor, Ban on Cellphones in New York City Schools to Be Lifted, N.Y. TIMES (Jan. 6, 2015), [https://perma.cc/835L-XJ2U]
[5] The Daily, The New York Times, The Push To Ban Phones In Schools, (September 3, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/03/podcasts/the-daily/phone-ban-school.html