By: Dennis Richmond, Jr.
New York State’s statewide student cell-phone ban took effect at the start of the 2025–2026 school year, in September 2025. This second year of the ban will state here in Westchester when classes start this week.
Many of us know that for millions of American students, summer vacation meant months of texting, scrolling, streaming and carrying a phone almost everywhere. Now, as schools reopen, educators like me face something that may even be harder than collecting homework. Getting students to be comfortable with putting their phones away.
A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 95 percent of American teens ages 13 to 17 have access to a smartphone, while nearly half say they are online “almost constantly.” One-third reported using at least one major social-media platform almost constantly. After a summer of that access, a bell-to-bell restriction can feel less like a classroom rule and more like sudden digital withdrawal (Pew Research Center). It’s going to be tough.
The problem follows students into school. In February 2025, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 77 percent of public schools prohibited cellphone use during class. Yet 73 percent of school leaders said phones had negatively affected attention spans, 72 percent cited mental-health effects and 53 percent said academic performance had suffered (National Center for Education Statistics). A lot of us know the problem. But many of us do not have the time to fix it.
Educators, my colleagues, appear to have even more worries. A National Education Association survey of 2,889 educators found that 90 percent supported prohibiting student cellphone use during instructional time. Among teachers working where students had access to devices, 73 percent reported classroom disruptions (National Education Association). Even though New York has phone bins and phone lockers, many students find ways to avoid them.
The broader screen-time picture is striking. A CDC report published in October 2024 found that 50.4 percent of teenagers spent at least four hours daily on screens outside schoolwork. Among those students, 27.1 percent reported recent anxiety symptoms, compared with 12.3 percent among teens logging less than four hours (CDC).
Public patience is shifting, too. Pew found in June 2025 that 74 percent of American adults supported classroom cellphone bans, up from 68 percent in 2024, while support for all-day restrictions climbed from 36 to 44 percent (Pew Research Center).
I would love to say just take the phone away. Throw it out. But that really does not work. Surprisingly, it does not immediately undo the habit. A 2025 study of 1,227 adolescents published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe found restrictive school policies reduced phone use during school by roughly 40 minutes, but did not significantly reduce overall weekday or weekend use (ScienceDirect). I guess it falls on the folx at home.
So, there you have it. This may be September’s real challenge. Schools are not simply enforcing a rule. They are asking students to abruptly change a behavior that was reinforced all summer.
The first weeks may bring frustration, resistance, and students instinctively reaching for devices that are no longer available. They might even think they feel or hear a phone vibrating that isn’t there. For educators, like me, patience may be almost as important as policy. Here we go!
Dennis Richmond, Jr. (@NewYorkStakz) is a journalist, historian, and educator from Yonkers, NY. He writes to uplift unheard voices, honor history, and inspire change.