Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones in schools in her executive budget, along with a $13.5 million appropriation to implement the ban.

While the proposal has the support of the teachers’ unions, there are a couple of other ideas floating around that aren’t as stringent as the governor’s that are gaining traction.

The state Senate’s one-house budget counters that local school districts should be able to determine if phones may be used outside of the classroom. The Senate bill also prohibits schools from suspending students who violate the rules and use their phones.  

The Assembly didn’t include a cellphone proposal in its one-house budget, but Education Committee chair Michael Benedetto introduced a stand-alone bill requiring districts to establish cellphone policies tailored to their own “specific school environments."

Brian Fessler, chief advocacy officer with the New York State School Boards Association (NYSBBA), and Greg Berck, assistant director for governmental relations and assistant counsel at the New York Council of School Superintendents (NYCOSS), discussed the issue with Capital Tonight’s Susan Arbetter.