This school year, something is missing from New York classrooms — cellphones. In accordance with state law, districts from Long Island to Buffalo have adopted distraction-free learning policies that prohibit student use of cellphones, smart watches and earbuds during school, and educators and administrators agree that the new bell-to-bell restrictions have not arrived a moment too soon.
“I feel like phones gave students an out from tapping into real life and being present,” said Nakia Wolfe, president of Amityville Teachers Association. Amityville’s new bell-to-bell policy, which was adopted at the July school board meeting and included input from parents and educators, requires all students to power down their devices and store them in assigned storage pouches for the entire school day. “I think that students will greatly benefit from unplugging and focusing on their learning, and I think it will also improve their social skills.”
“Cellphones caused problems because kids were not engaged in the lessons,” said Erin Ayers, president of the Wheatland-Chili Federation of Teachers. “They were talking to kids in other classes when they should have been paying attention. They were playing games, watching YouTube videos and TikToks. There were a lot of off-topic activities happening.”
Adopted by the school board in July, Wheatland-Chili's new bell-to-bell policy requires that devices be turned off and securely stored for grades pre-K through 12. Ayers said she is confident that the policy will help students focus more on their lessons, lead to better personal interactions, and help students get back to “kids being kids.”
In May 2025, after a year-long push by NYSUT, New York became the largest state to enact a comprehensive bell-to-bell cellphone policy for K-12 schools. The law prohibits students from using non-school issued internet-enabled devices on school grounds during the entire instructional day and applies to all school districts, charter schools and BOCES across the state. The law allows for specific, authorized exceptions, including use for a specific educational purpose when authorized by a teacher or principal, or use for managing a student’s healthcare needs, translation services or when included in a student’s IEP or Section 504 plan. The deadline for adopting a legally compliant policy was August 1, 2025. Policies will go into effect for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
“For us, we really feel it's going to make a huge difference for our kids. We think they’re going to be more engaged in learning, but also the social-emotional effects are going to be beneficial for them,” said Terry Ward, superintendent of North Syracuse Central School District. Ward believes that, in the absence of phones, students will not only pay more attention to their teachers, but to one another, and hopes that renewed conversations in the halls and lunchrooms will lead to richer relationships and better outcomes overall.
District administration is responsible for the effective development and rollout of new policies, and educators say that uniformity will be a key element of success.
“It really does come down to follow-through with everything. We’re going to have to stay vigilant and make sure we’re consistent with everything we do,” said Wolfe.
Thanks to NYSUT members' advocacy, New York is now the largest state to implement comprehensive bell-to-bell cellphone restrictions in all K-12 schools starting this school year. This isn't about being anti-technology—it's about being pro-childhood.
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