De Blasio Lifts Cell Phone Ban; Lets Schools Set New Tech Policies

Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration said on Wednesday it would lift the city's more than decade-long ban on cell phones in public schools. The new policy, to go into effect March 2, would allow principals to set their own rules on cell phones in consultation with parents and teachers.

Currently, students are prohibited from bringing cell phones to schools because they're considered a distraction. But critics said the ban wasn't fairly enforced. It was often ignored by principals, except in almost 90 school buildings with metal detectors that are largely located in low-income communities.

A whole industry was created around those buildings so students could pay to store their phones in vans while they went to class. The ban was also unpopular with parents who want to stay in touch with their children.

“Parents should be able to call or text their kids," said de Blasio, who campaigned on a promise to lift the ban and said his own son, Dante, took his phone to Brooklyn Tech. He portrayed the change in policy as common sense.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said that's not a free pass, however. "I do not expect that any of us will ever walk into a school and you're going to see every child on their cell phone," she said, during a press conference in Brooklyn with the mayor at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology.

The new changes, to be voted on by the Panel for Educational Policy in February, would remove cell phones and electronic communication devices from the list of banned items in schools, and create a new regulation that specifically governs their use in school. The Department of Education said principals will consult with School Leadership Teams in deciding among the following options:                                                                               

• Storing mobile devices in backpacks or a designated location during the school day
• Allowing mobile devices to be used during lunch or in designated areas only
• Allowing mobile devices for instructional purposes in some or all classrooms

At schools that don't adopt a new policy, the first option would apply: students could bring cell phones into the building so long as they store the phones out of sight for the school day. 

Education officials noted that phones won't be allowed during exams, and schools would have a range of options for discipline in cases where cell phones are misused, including confiscation. De Blasio said that should be an incentive for most students to follow the rules.

"I guarantee, I heard plenty of stories from my own kids that when they saw someone's cell phone taken away it very much registered with them," he said.

Schools will also be encouraged to incorporate cell phones and tablets in their lessons. In an editorial in the Daily News, Fariña noted that cell phones can be used for translation purposes, research and to encourage classroom participation.

Seung Yu, principal of the Academy for Software Engineering, said he would look at the Department of Education's guidance and consult with the other principals in the Washington Irving campus near Union Square, His building, which houses seven schools, has metal detectors. Yu acknowledged cell phones can be a distraction, but not always.

"We look at all the different devices and technology as a way to advance education and as a resource for education," he said.

Students heading to the school Wednesday morning were relieved to hear about the news. Antionnia Davis 15, said she spends a dollar a day storing her phone in vans. "I think it's like $720 for like four years to be in school, just to put my phone in the truck."

Antoine Lloyd, 17, said he used to sneak his phone in through the back door, but most of the time he paid $1 a day to store his phone. Asked what he would do with the money, he said, "save it for college."

The policy change will mean a loss in business for Luis Bargas, 35, who parks a van outside Washington Irving and another at the Evander Childs Educational Complex which includes six schools, including Bronx Aerospace High School. He estimated he made $6,000 a month storing phones. 

A mother who commented on this story, said the phone was an important link to her son who suffered from asthma. Her advice? Give your child a phone so embarrassing (to them) that they would only use it in an emergency.

"Don't assume all phone use is non-productive; get the kids a cheap non-smart phone to use for school and they won't even let their friends, much less teachers, see it," wrote JL Gold.

What do you think is the best cell phone policy for your school?