Hochul says parents should expect 'statewide policy' that limits cell phone use in schools

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) -- NEWS10's sister station, NewsChannel 9, spoke one-on-one with Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday to address a variety of her current projects, including sending refund checks to New Yorkers and considerations to ban cell phones in schools statewide.

Hochul said the idea of limiting cell phone use in schools goes back more than two years. She said: "...we were seeing a high number of teenagers and even pre-teenagers dealing with mental health challenges that we'd never seen the likes of before. So you have to peel back and find out what's going on."

Hochul shared what she learned on a listening tour that reached all ten regions of New York. "During the day, cell phones are a huge distraction and a barrier to the normal growth of a young person," said Hochul.

As she considers a statewide ban, she knows some parents will be worried about being less able to reach their children, especially in the event of an emergency.

She said, citing law enforcement's advice, "The last thing you want to have happen is your child is distracted, videoing this, communicating with their friends, sending you messages. Your child is safest if they're laser-focused on the adult in the room who will lead them to safety. Once I heard that, that was an aha moment for me."

But before announcing her final determination, Hochul said she wanted to get more understanding and support from parents. "We're working on the details of this," Hochul said when asked about the status of the pending decision.

NewsChannel 9 asked: "Would this be an overarching ban from state government?"

The governor responded: "This is something that a lot of school districts have asked for. There's a lot of pressure on superintendents, principals and school boards. They know this should happen, they really do. But it's hard to be the first or only one."

She referenced the Schoharie Central School District which instituted its own ban of phones. "If you talk to that superintendent," Hochul said, "they wish they had done it a long time ago."

Hochul said: "I'm still gathering information, but what I'm hearing is: the best way to do this, to make it effective, so all of our students are being treated the same, is to have a statewide policy on this, that's what I'm developing right now. "

Proposed refund checks

Hochul also answered NewsChannel 9's questions about her proposed refund checks. If passed by the State Legislature, New York State would mail taxpayers checks as refunds for inflation. Single taxpayers get $300. Married taxpayers and families get $500.

The state has the money, she said. "We collect sales tax," Hochul explained, "and when the prices of everything went up, we took in more in sales tax over the last three years than what we planned for."

She decided the money belonged to the taxpayers. "This should be back in their pockets," said Hochul. "That's exactly what we're doing. There will be a lot of pressure on us to spend it on other things."

She doesn't think the amount is high enough to further exacerbate inflation like past stimulus checks are accused of doing. Checks are expected, she said, before parents send kids back to school in the fall.