Governor Kathy Hochul held a roundtable with Monroe County school leaders, parents and students to highlight their plans for implementing bell-to-bell smartphone restrictions when school resumes this fall. The roundtable last Friday included representatives of Monroe-2 Orleans BOCES, Rochester City School District, Greece Central School District, Holley Central School District and Spencerport Central School District — all of whom have already finalized their distraction-free policy. The event followed previous roundtables held by the Governor this summer in New York City, the Capital Region and Central New York, with additional roundtables to come before the start of school.
Governor Hochul also highlighted that, as of Friday, nearly 950 public school districts, charter schools and BOCES across New York State have submitted their distraction-free policy to State education officials — representing 86 percent of the 1,098 total districts and schools covered by the statewide requirement. The nearly 950 policy submissions to date include nearly 650 policy submissions from public school districts across the state. Additional districts and schools are expected to finalize their policy in the coming days at upcoming school board meetings scheduled for August.
“Our kids succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling — and that’s why schools across New York State will be ready to implement bell-to-bell smartphone restrictions this fall,” Governor Hochul said. “We’re continuing to provide the resources and support to ensure that every school finalizes and publishes their distraction-free policy in the coming days.”
The Distraction-Free Schools law, signed by Governor Hochul, requires bell-to-bell smartphone restrictions in K-12 school districts statewide, starting this fall for the 2025-2026 school year.
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