LACKAWANNA, N.Y. — Lackawanna City School District announced a new policy Tuesday that will ban students’ cell phones during school hours.
Starting this school year, the “No Cell Bell to Bell” policy will require all 6-12 grade students to place their phones into a bag the school provides at the start of the school day, which will be locked by a magnet until the day ends.
Students will still have their phones in their possession throughout the day but will not be able to access them.
Students who don’t adhere to the policy will be in violation of the district’s student code of conduct. Consequences will be applied accordingly based on the nature of the infraction, the district said.
The announcement is just the latest move by a Western New York school district since Governor Kathy Hochul began a push last month to ban cell phones in all schools across the state due to the dangerous role she believes social media can play in a student’s learning experience.
New York City, Los Angeles and the state of Virginia have already made moves to ban phones in schools.
Niagara Falls does have a similar policy in place for elementary school students up to eighth grade, but not high school students. Buffalo Public Schools, on the other hand, doesn’t have any sort of ban against phones right now but is considering it moving forward.
“At the end of the day, most of our problems are because of cell phones,” Lackawanna CSD superintendent Nadia Nashir said. “It’s not even about the students having an interaction during the day. It is usually because someone posts something on social media and then that becomes a focus instead of what we are learning in algebra.”
2 On Your Side also pressed the superintendent on what would happen if there was an emergency situation like an active shooter at the school. She said she understands some parents may have concerns in a situation like that with this change, but is urging parents to trust the district and says she actually believes a lockdown situation will run smoother if they don’t have to worry about students’ cell phones.
For parents that still have concerns, they can provide feedback at town halls the district will host later this month. The first will take place on Monday, Aug. 19 at 9:30 a.m. at the high school/middle school library. The second will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29 in the high school cafeteria.
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