(Bloomberg) -- New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said “now is not the time” to ban cell phones in schools, citing concerns from parents who struggled to reach their children during a lockdown at two Upper West Side schools last month.
Banks’ remarks signal a reversal on a widely supported proposal to restrict phone use for more than 1.1 million public school students across 1,800 campuses in the US’s largest school system.
Despite the initial push for a ban, Banks on Wednesday acknowledged the need for a balanced approach. He told Fox 5 New York that while both he and Mayor Eric Adams recognize the distractions that cell phones can cause in classrooms, they also understand the importance of allowing students to stay connected in the event of an emergency.
The shift comes as Banks prepares to step down. Last week he announced his plans to retire at the end of the calendar year after federal agents seized his phone as part of a corruption investigation into Adams’ inner circle. But on Thursday, City Hall said the timeline had been moved up and that Banks would now leave office on Oct. 16. Deputy Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos was tapped as his replacement.
The incident Banks cited took place on Sept. 12, when Frank McCourt High School on West 84th Street and a nearby elementary school went into lockdown following reports of a gunman in the high school’s bathroom. The threat was quickly deemed a false alarm, but some of the parents expressed frustration over the lack of direct communication during the incident.
“Parents were saying that ‘if an emergency happens, I need to be in touch with my child,’” Banks told Fox 5.
Still, polls show strong bipartisan support for banning cell phones in schools. A Siena College survey found 60% of voters back the measure across the political spectrum.
In California, the US’s most populous state, Governor Gavin Newsom this month signed the Phone-Free School Act, which requires all school districts, charter schools and county offices of education to develop policies restricting smartphone use by July 2026. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she intends to propose a statewide ban in schools during the 2025 legislative session.
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