Cayuga County school district superintendents have a mixture of praise and concern for Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to limit cellphone usage by students.
Hochul announced a device ban in January as part of her state budget proposal. By restricting use of phones, tablets and other devices on school grounds, she hopes to "create a statewide standard for distraction-free schools," she in a news release. Schools would have to give parents a way to contact their children during class, and would be able to create their own plans for storing devices.聽
In response to the governor's proposal, Weedsport Central School District Superintendent Gregory Stone told 人兽性交 in an email that supports it.聽
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"Most educators agree that cellphones are highly disruptive and distracting to students," he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing to ban cellphones in New York schools.聽
The Weedsport district has taken its own steps this school year to stop device use in classrooms through the聽, Stone said, and educate students about the issue.
Southern Cayuga Central School Superintendent聽Patrick Jensen聽told 人兽性交 in an email that his district is awaiting more information about the ban.聽
Jensen questioned part of Hochul's proposal that would allocate $13.5 million to help schools purchase storage for devices, such as pouches.聽
"If decided, it costs nothing to put the phone in the student's locker," Jensen said. "Why are we spending money on these things?"
Michael Hoose, interim superintendent of the Cato-Meridian Central School District, told 人兽性交 in an email that he appreciates the ban's intention to preserve instructional time.
But Hoose would prefer that the decision remain with districts, he continued, based on input from students, teachers and parents.聽
Superintendents at the six other school districts in the Cayuga County area 鈥 Auburn, Port Byron, Union Springs, Moravia, Skaneateles and Jordan-Elbridge 鈥 declined or did not respond to 人兽性交's request for comment. The Auburn Enlarged City School District began its own student聽cellphone ban on Oct. 15.
The governor's office said the state ban, which would start at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, would still allow students access to phones that don't connect to the internet. Exceptions would also be made for connected devices provided by schools for classroom instruction, as well as students who need devices for purposes like managing a medical condition or language translation.
鈥淔rom parents and teachers, to social justice and law enforcement leaders, New Yorkers agree that our young people succeed when they鈥檙e learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling,鈥 Hochul said. 鈥淭his comprehensive proposal to restrict smartphone use in schools will ensure that New York鈥檚 statewide standard for distraction-free learning delivers the best results for our kids and educators.鈥
Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.