SHS Students Speak with Assemblyman Slater About Proposed Cell Phone Ban in Schools

Somers High School students took the opportunity to talk with New York State Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Yorktown) on Thursday about a ban on cell phones in schools proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Is it good? Is it bad?” the state legislator asked students in the school auditorium. “Do you have any suggestions on making some modifications to it? I like ideas, so if you have them, let me hear it.”

He visited, at the invitation of the SHS Student Council, to collect thoughts on the measure from students as they are the residents the ban would impact the most.

Several students said they prefer the school’s current policy, which requires students to stow their phones in pouches during class but allows them to use the devices between classes and during lunch and free periods.

“It’s a good policy because you still get to learn responsibility,” said senior Emma Monteleone.

As written now, Hochul’s proposal would be stricter, restricting cell phone use for the entire school day, including free periods. It is included in the governor’s proposed state budget, which calls for allocating $13.5 million to help cover districts’ costs for phone storage during the day.

Slater said the ban’s provisions could change, and that there is talk of doubling the funds allocated for it to avoid imposing an unfunded mandate upon districts whose costs for implementing the change would not be covered by Hochul’s original proposal.

The discussion was also attended by Board of Education President Amanda Kandel, Interim Superintendent Harry LeFevre and other administrators.

Students raised several questions, such as what would happen in an emergency where a student needs to contact a parent. Student Council President Jimmy Gallivan, a junior, said some students would find a way around a ban, and he suggested dedicating some resources to treating social media addiction.

Giuseppe Arena, president of the Computer Science and Cyber Club, would favor a ban on social media for anyone under 16 years old, similar to a law passed in Australia last December, the first of its kind in the world.

“Kids would be more social and would want to do more things,” he said.

With the proposal still in the works, Slater said he appreciated the input from the students.

“It’s important that they know they’ve got an opportunity to voice their concerns and their ideas,” he said. “I want them to understand that they have a say in the policies that impact them.”