Exclusive | New group launches push for cell phone ban in NY schools: ‘Our kids’ well-being has collapsed’

A new advocacy group armed with a hefty funding pot has launched a push to ban smart-phone use in New York’s schools.

The group — Phone Free New York — has already raised six figures for its campaign to persuade Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to approve a law to bar mobile-phone usage during the school day, The Post has learned.

Cell phones are a frequent distraction in classrooms, and too much screentime affects kids’ mental health, educators and parent advocates say.

“Since the pandemic, social-media use has soared while our kids’ well-being has collapsed,” said Raj Goyle, founder of Phone Free New York.

“Smartphone use in our schools has supercharged in-school violence and bullying, created an educational environment full of distraction and isolated our children from each other,” he said.

“Schools should stimulate learning and social connections. That’s why Phone Free New York is laser-focused on ensuring Albany takes action to protect our kids.”

Hochul, who has said she will unveil a “statewide standard” on the issue in her executive budget plan Tuesday, welcomed the support from Phone Free New York.

She conducted a “listening tour” last year regarding smart-phone abuse in the classroom.

“From parent teacher associations to business and economic leaders, New Yorkers agree that young people succeed in the classroom when they’re learning and growing — not clicking and scrolling,” Hochul said.

“Following my listening tour with students, parents, educators and other stakeholders, I look forward to advancing a new statewide standard for distraction-free schools as part of my budget proposal.”

The state’s powerful teachers’ union — New York State United Teachers — backs a “phone-free” school policy.   

At least eight other states — from liberal blue to conservative red — have enacted such bans, and proposals are being considered in more states this year.

The states that have imposed restrictions on phone usage are: California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia.

Goyle, a former Kansas state legislator-turned-New Yorker who co-founded the 5Boro Institute think tank, acknowledged that digital technology has “supercharged” productivity and boosted the American economy.

But he said research shows the ease of smartphones has also brought “serious negative consequences” for youths.

Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have talked about curbing smartphone usage in the classroom, but no action has yet been taken.

A consensus has been difficult to achieve in the city Department of Education, where there are 1,800 schools in 14,000 buildings. Some parents said their kids should at least have access to their phones in case of an emergency. 

“This is an incredible opportunity for a new organization, Phone Free New York, to serve as a nerve center for activism and a clearing house for innovative policy solutions,” Goyle said. “We will push the New York City Department of Education to implement phone-free policies this spring, then demand Albany send legislation to the governor’s desk.”

He said New York can be a leader again, as it was when former Mayor Mike Bloomberg rammed through a smoking ban in bars and restaurants in 2003 and other cities and states followed.

Phone Free New York  will file for not-for-profit, tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service to advocate on the issue. It has retained the consulting firm Metropolitan Strategies, headed by Neal Kwatra, to help run the phone-free school campaign.

Goyle was part of the lobbying campaign that helped persuade Hochul and the legislature to approve a popular, bi-partisan law last year to stop social-media firms from targeting children with addictive algorithms. The law is called the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act.

Hochul said Sunday she’ll put her political muscle behind the issue.

“[Children] are so absorbed in their cell phone. And it’s taken kids to a dark mental-health place,” Hochul said Sunday on CBS New New York’s “The Point” program with Marcia Kramer.

The governor stopped short on saying whether she would propose a “bell to bell” ban and whether Albany would put up funds to pay for implementing such a system.