As NY Gov. Kathy Hochul mulls a statewide ban of mobile phones in schools, the reality on the ground in New York City illustrates the complexities of such a large-scale effort.
On its face, the cell phone policy at Forest Hills High School seems clear: Phones cannot be used in school and must be turned off during the day, unless a teacher allows them as part of a lesson.
In practice, the picture is a lot more complicated.
Some teachers create their own rules, from zero-tolerance approaches like confiscation to more relaxed policies like allowing phones unless a class devolves into chaos, according to Stephan Menasche, a senior at the 3,400-student school in Queens.
The inconsistencies lead to students testing boundaries and giving into the irresistible pull of their phones to watch or create TikToks, text friends, or listen to music.
“There are classes where I’m not using my phone, and they’re interesting. It’s great because I don’t have to get distracted by the notifications or whatever,” Menasche said. “But sometimes the classes are really boring, and I would rather be on my phone.”
Forest Hills is one of hundreds of schools across New York City that instituted cell phone bans after the Education Department dropped the citywide prohibition in March 2015, a move that gave principals responsibility to create their own approaches. As Gov. Kathy Hochul mulls a statewide ban of cell phones in schools, the reality on the ground in New York City illustrates the complexities of such a large-scale effort.
