Hold on a minute, elementary school kids.
Cellphone use could be banned in New York City public schools within two weeks, Superintendent David Banks told reporters Wednesday.
“We are working on this issue and want to make sure we do it right,” he said. First reported By Chalkbeat.
Banks’ comments came as rumors have circulated for weeks that New York City, the nation’s largest school district, would implement a cell phone ban as part of a campaign to protect children from the harms of technology.
“There will be a big announcement in the next two weeks, but I will say we are leaning very much towards banning mobile phones,” he said.
The bank revealed some details. During an appearance on NY1 WednesdayHe suggested that children would probably be able to bring their cell phones to school, but would not be allowed to use them until classes were over for the day.
“We want them to be able to bring their cell phones to school because they need to be able to contact their families as soon as school is over so they can do that,” he told NY1.
“But we will be looking at a system that won’t be available during school hours.”
Gov. Kathy Hockle, who last week signed a bill banning social media companies from bombarding children with “addictive” social media feeds, is calling for a ban on students’ smartphone use in schools.
The governor’s call appeared to be answered by Gov. Banks, who said last week that school officials were considering a ban.
He said there is consensus among students that eliminating cell phones altogether could be a solution to many of the problems in city schools.
“We haven’t heard from many schools that they are using these phones for very strictly academic purposes in class activities,” he said.
“We have heard about safety issues with children communicating with other children through their mobile phones after school and causing conflicts.”
