This is a Yondr Pouch, something that Clinton currently uses to lock up students’ phones in grade 6-10 during the school day.
Many students are attached to their phones- even through the school day when learning is supposed to be a priority. Numerous students aren’t utilizing their brains to the maximum extent by using their quick access to technology to help them with their work or to do it for them, which hinders the learning process of many adolescents.
This issue has come to the attention of many teachers, and even government officials, leading to a new New York State plan restricting access to phones throughout the school day.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, is the brains behind the plan, promoting restricted phone access in grades K-12 statewide. Governor Hochul wants to protect the youth’s mental health, and she believes that limiting screen time will help achieve this goal.
There will be some exemptions to the law. The proposal says that students can have simple cell phones without internet connection throughout the day, and can also have laptops or tablets that are given to them by the school, for school purposes. Also, the governor’s proposal will allow students with medical conditions, specified by their Individualized Education Program (IEP), to have devices when necessary, as well as for academic purposes such as translation.
Governor Hochul signed a first-in-the-nation law to restrict phones in schools for minors. She said, “From parents and teachers, to social justice and law enforcement leaders, New Yorkers agree that our young people succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling.” However, Governor Hochul is forgetting to include a key perspective and part of the New York population: the students this will be affecting.
What are the implications of this proposal for students? In a time filled with uncertainty and school shootings, how would students get in contact with their parents in case of an emergency? According to the new law that would be taking place for the 2025-2026 school year, a requirement includes giving parents a way to contact their children throughout the school day. How though, is the question.
In Clinton, there is already a phone policy. In grades 6-10, as of now, students are required to put their phone in Yondr Pouches during the school day. A Yondr Pouch is a bag the size of a phone, locked by a pin contraption and unlocked through the use of a magnet. 11th and 12th graders attending Clinton, who partake in the IB program, are permitted to have their phones unrestricted during the school day, as the IB program often requires the use of technology. If Governor Hochul’s plan is approved, what will this mean for Clinton students?
I asked Nicole Hammer, an 11th grader at Clinton, what her thoughts about this new policy are. She said, “I would probably feel unupdated and out of the loop during the day. I would also feel unsafe without having direct contact with my parents in case of an emergency”. It’s important, especially living in New York City, a city where unpredictable things can happen at any given time, for students to feel safe.
