Mayor Adams wants to ban cell phones in NYC schools by next year

BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Mayor Eric Adams said his goal is to have a cell phone ban policy in place by next school year.

"We strongly believed cell phones should be banned in school," Adams said at a mental health event inside P.S. 35 in the Bronx. "The science is clear that cell phones are really distracting our students, our teachers, and it's adding to bullying. It creates an unhealthy environment."

The mayor has been carefully considering a cell phone ban for some time, but the new comments are his strongest to date in favor of the ban. PIX 11's Henry Rosoff followed up asking if a policy would be in place by the next school year in the fall of 2025.

"That is the goal," Adams said.

He added that Governor Kathy Hochul has already allocated some funding to help with any infrastructure necessary. However, Adams believes the city will need to come up with additional dollars as well.

Adams stressed that he does not have a firm idea of what the policy should look like just yet. He said a number of schools within the system are already piloting programs, and he wants to continue to engage with stakeholders like students, parents, teachers and more.