Students and teachers are back in classrooms across Central New York, with hopes of a successful school year. But the next ten months might also include distractions from - and tensions over - smart phone use.
It happens every day in classrooms: Dinging or buzzing student phones interrupting a teacher's lesson, and districts are grappling with how to address it. Policies even vary by school in a particular district. For example, at Camillus Middle School in the West Genesee School District, phones can't be used during the day and must be stored in a student's locker. But at West Genesee High School, phones are allowed in the classroom as long as they're kept in a bag. Use is prohibited during class, but allowed between courses, during lunch, and study hall. Senior Max Leubner says it’s a difficult balance.
“There's some who push back against it and say, well, we don't want the school taking away our phones, we don't want the teachers telling us when we can and can't use them," Leubner said. "But there's the other half of students who are trying to pay attention in class who have a kid sitting next to them on their phone watching a YouTube video to the right of them. They've got someone scrolling on TikTok to the left of them.”
Leubner is in his fourth year as class president, serves as an ex-officio student board member, and served on the Superintendent's Liaison committee. He's also in his fourth year as student manager of the varsity volleyball team, and his third year on the golf team.
Governor Kathy Hochul is considering a ban on smartphones in schools, and has held a statewide listening tour to gather input. At East Syracuse Minoa High School Thursday, she said she’s learned about various policies to help craft legislation.
“There's still a process involved, but I feel even more committed than I did at the beginning of this process," Hochul said. "After all the stories I've heard from frustrated teachers, anxious parents and teenagers who are asking us to help save them from themselves.”
Hochul cites not only distractions in the classroom, but also the adverse effects of addictive social media algorithms on teens’ mental health and development. She wants legislation sooner than later, though a bill likely won't be drafted and acted on until next year.
Some feel any measure should include flexibility for local control. Sandra Ruffo is president of the New York State School Boards Association.
“Not being a mandate, but that you need to have within your district some sort of a policy, you figure out what it is that can best help this problem," Ruffo said. "I think that's what districts are looking for and then they can go about doing it in the way that they see best.”
She says a survey of 564 school board members in March was inconclusive. Forty three percent want NYSSBA to support efforts to prohibit student use of phones during the school day, while 20 percent oppose it. 37 percent preferred a neutral stance.
