BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Western New York students had a chance to weigh in on a proposed statewide “bell to bell” cellphone ban in schools.
The students gathered Thursday in Downtown Buffalo at UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine, dubbed a “Teen Hall” meeting.
Governor Kathy Hochul proposed the cellphone ban, saying it would create a distraction-free school environment and hopes to improve the declining mental health of students.
I talked with some of the teens who participated in the conversation as a representative from the governor's office looked on.
“Modern problems require modern solutions,” said one student.
Students from Buffalo, Kenmore Tonawanda, and Lockport Schools gathered to speak openly about the governor’s proposed ban.
"And like in my whole school, we all use our phones,” a student said.
Many school districts already have various policies in place, some bell-to-bell, others just certain restrictions.
“It just doesn't make sense to take away phones,” said a student.
Students talked during break-out sessions to share their views with adults joining in similar conversations.
A group of school leaders and parents shared their thoughts on the potential ban as well.
"But I don't think there should be a statewide ban; I think that every district should be able to make those decisions themselves,” a member of the adult group said.
Buffalo Public School Board Member Sharon Belton-Cottman, who represents the city’s Ferry District, joined that conversation circle and I asked her about the proposed ban.
“I am for the cell phone ban in schools," she said. "I don't think we would be having this conversation if it wasn't a problem in schools.”
The governor is proposing the ban to stop students from being distracted from their academics.
“Ultimately, what we want to do is make sure children are focused on learning in the learning environment," Belton-Cottman said. "That’s what it's about, and if it can help us improve the outcomes, then we ought to be about that for children.”
“I feel like it should be on a school-to-school basis,” said Alexis Casselman, a Kenmore East High School student. “If a student isn't engaged in a lesson, if a student isn't going to participate, that's going to be on the student, whether you take their phone away or not.”
"I see everybody glued to their devices, like it was a vacuum it felt like the atmosphere of the classroom was being sucked away from me,” described Damariel Hill, a Hutch Tech student. “My message for Governor Hochul is there will always be a better solution to a problem.”
Buffalo School’s parent, Vonetta Rhodes, is co-chair of the Education Equity Task Force. She told me that as a mom, she wants her son to keep his phone while at school.
“My son, he has speech issues, so when he gets very upset, it's difficult for him to speak, so that cellphone is instrumental when he's upset, to tell me what's going on,” Rhodes responded.
The governor wants this statewide policy in place for next school year, but the state legislature must still vote on it as they tackle this year’s state budget process.
