Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — The Rochester City School District is actively seeking public input on how to implement a statewide bell-to-bell cell phone ban set to take effect this fall.
The district, which serves 22,000 students, held its first public meeting Tuesday to discuss the policy, which will restrict the use of cell phones and other internet-enabled devices such as smartwatches and tablets in schools.
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“We know there is a trend to eliminate the distractions in the classroom,” said Marisol Ramos-Lopez, RCSD’s chief of communications and intergovernmental affairs.
Ramos-Lopez noted that while many schools already have policies regarding electronic devices, the new policy will expand to include a broader range of smart devices.
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During the meeting, Ramos-Lopez presented preliminary results from a survey distributed to parents, students and teachers.
The survey, which received nearly 500 responses, solicited opinions on the restrictions, concerns about the policy and suggestions for managing students’ phones during the school day.
“There is parental support and there is teacher and staff support,” said Ramos-Lopez.
“There are some questions that we asked about the importance of contacting kids,” Ramos-Lopez continued. “Parents know to reach out to the office, and each school is going to be communicating directly with families to talk about how they’re going to be implementing the policy.”
However, not everyone is in favor of the ban.
Maurice Haskins, a parent of two students in the district, expressed his concerns.
“Taking the power out of the hands of parents is just never a good idea,” he said. “And I just think that parents being able to navigate what that process looks like, you know, is important.”
Ramos-Lopez acknowledged that some students are also hesitant about the policy.
“The students who already do it and understand it would prefer to have their cell phones,” she said. “We understand what their concerns are. I think that this point, they understand how we are managing it, specifically in the middle and high school.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul has mandated that all school districts in New York finalize and publish their distraction-free policies by Aug. 1.
CLICK HERE to access RCSD’s survey.
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