Governor Hochul Hosts Southern Tier Roundtable on Tackling Smartphone Use in New York Schools

Governor Kathy Hochul today held a roundtable discussion with local educators and stakeholders in the Southern Tier as part of her statewide listening tour focused on addressing smartphone use in schools. This listening tour began last week in the Capital Region and will continue with additional roundtable discussions with key stakeholders over the coming months. As the Governor has emphasized, stakeholder engagement will play a key role as she develops a statewide policy proposal on smartphones in schools that will be announced later this year.

“When it comes to smartphones and other internet enabled devices in schools, it's clear that the status quo just isn't working for our young people and educators,” Governor Hochul said. “I'm gaining valuable feedback from teachers and parents across the state to ensure we develop effective solutions that will deliver the best result for our kids.

Today’s roundtable was held at Windsor High School and included administrators, teachers and parents from several different schools in the region. Additional roundtables over the coming months will be held across the state with a wide array of educational stakeholders

According to a Pew Research poll released in June, 72 percent of high school teachers nationwide say that students being distracted by cell phones is a major problem in their classroom. As part of her commitment to addressing this issue and creating more positive outcomes for students, families and educators, Governor Hochul stated this spring that she plans to propose a statewide policy to tackle excessive smartphone use in schools.

Governor Hochul has also highlighted that many schools across the state – including some represented at today’s roundtable – currently have individual policies seeking to address cell phone use in their classrooms. The Governor is focused on gathering detailed perspectives on the successes and challenges seen by various schools and stakeholders statewide based on individual school policies.

Participants at today’s roundtable included:

Windsor Central School District Superintendent Jason Andrews
Vestal Central School District Superintendent Clifford Kasson
Norwich Central School District Superintendent Scott Ryan
Vestal Middle School Principal Sarah Wiggins
Mackenzie Dubois, Windsor Central School District Social Worker
Jill Houseknecht, Windsor Central School District Teacher
Darren Safranek, Parent

This listening tour builds on Governor Hochul’s leadership on youth mental health and wellbeing, which has included signing a first-in-the-nation law to combat addictive social media feeds; expanding school-based mental health clinics and other resources; and launching the “Get Offline, Get Outside” campaign to encourage kids and families to put down their phone, take a break from social media and enjoy outdoor activities this summer.

Additional roundtable discussions with educators, parents, students and other advocates will be held over the coming months.

This continues Governor Hochul’s leadership on youth mental health and wellbeing, which has included signing a first-in-the-nation law to combat addictive social media feeds; expanding school-based mental health clinics and other resources; and launching the “Get Offline, Get Outside” campaign to encourage kids and families to put down their phone, take a break from social media and enjoy outdoor activities this summer.

The challenges presented by smartphones and other internet enabled devices in schools also exacerbate the ongoing issue of learning loss, especially in the post-pandemic era. Governor Hochul’s efforts here are the next step in ensuring our students’ full attention is on learning in internet distraction free zones.

Nation-Leading Laws to Protect Kids on Social Media

In June, Governor Hochul signed two major pieces of legislation that will help create a safer digital environment for New York’s young people.

The SAFE for Kids Act requires social media companies to restrict addictive feeds on their platforms for users under 18. Unless parental consent is granted, users under 18 will not receive addictive feeds. Notably, the SAFE For Kids Act was the first law of its kind to be signed in any state across the nation.

The New York Child Data Protection Act will prohibit online sites and connected devices from collecting, using, sharing or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18, unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website.

Statewide Investments in Youth Mental Health

As part of her $1 billion investment in mental health statewide, Governor Hochul has also significantly expanded access to mental health care and resources for young people and their families. The Governor continued this focus on youth support and services by securing additional investments in the FY25 Enacted Budget.

Governor Hochul took steps in her Enacted Budget to expand mental health support for children across the state and ensure their voices are heard, making good on an agenda she unveiled in her State of the State address in January. The Governor announced $20 million in start-up funding for school-based mental health clinics and launched a rolling application, which will make it easier for interested schools to establish these satellites. The announcement built on the $5.1 million awarded in November to support 137 new school-based clinics, including 82 at high needs schools, and bringing the total number of clinics to more than 1,200 statewide.

The Governor’s FY25 Enacted Budget also includes an investment of more than $19 million to provide critical care to young people outside of school environments, including increasing resources for youth receiving treatment in their community or, when necessary, in residential care. Key initiatives such as the Youth Assertive Community Treatment teams, which provide wraparound services and support to young people at risk of entering residential or inpatient psychiatric treatment, have been expanded with $9.6 million to continue serving them at home and within their community whenever possible. Included in the investments to support children and youth, the Governor secured an additional $4 million to support a loan forgiveness program specifically for licensed mental health clinicians serving children and families.

Helping Young People “Get Offline, Get Outside”

This summer Governor Hochul launched the “Get Offline, Get Outside” campaign to promote physical and mental health by helping New York’s kids and families to put down their phones, take a break from social media, and enjoy recreation and outdoor social gatherings. In addition to waiving pool fees at New York State Parks, expanding access to outdoor activities and other announcements, this campaign has already helped inspire major increases in attendance at State Parks this summer. State Park attendance over the July 4 weekend hit 2.8 million visitors statewide– an increase of 30 percent compared to the same period of time last year.