The Shine On! Program at SUNY Plattsburgh and the New York State United Teachers Union hosted a community forum a couple of weeks ago on Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal before lawmakers this session to place new “bell-to-bell” restrictions on cellphones and smart devices in schools.
Professors at SUNY Plattsburgh recently surveyed hundreds of parents in the North Country about their kids cell phone and social media use and brought together a panel of experts, on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus, to talk about the findings of that survey, the Governor’s proposal, and concerns over how big of a distraction and how addictive cell phones, smart devices, and social media have become for kids. The governor’s proposal is the result of a listening tour she held across the state over the past year that’s getting broad support from teachers, parents, and safety experts.
Teacher David Rounds from the Bethlehem School District talked about the impact he has seen since his district’s bell-to-bell restrictions went into effect 18 months ago.
The panel also talked about how cell phone bans are winning praise from law enforcement, who say, that during school emergencies, cellphone access and outside contact can often make bad situations even worse. Shine On! released the new data from a survey of more than 600 North Country parents asking them about their children’s digital media and cellphone use.
Hear more about that and watch that full 2-hour forum here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw1p3R54aCk