7 New Public Schools Now Open In NYC, New Cellphone Ban In Effect: See Where

First day of school for New York City students amid new cellphone ban

School is back in session for nearly a million students in New York City, the nation's largest school district.

Meet Frankie Focus, Gov. Hochul’s freaky phone ban mascot

The shaggy monster is touting New York state’s new school smartphone ban.

Staten Island parents divided over N.Y.’s school cellphone ban that just went into effect

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Students across New York City and Staten Island returned to campus on Thursday for the first day of school with one notable change — cellphones and other personal devices are no longer allowed during the school day.

Long Island kids start the school year without their phones

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul highlights distraction-free schools. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)As the 2025-2026 academic year kicks off, New York state’s cellphone ban has gone into full swing.In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to place a statewide bell-to-bell ban on smartphone usage in all K-12 classrooms. However, the restriction did not go into place until this academic year.“For too long, students have sat i…

7 New Public Schools Now Open In NYC, New Cellphone Ban In Effect: See Where

Students returned to the classroom for the first day of school on Thursday.

First day of class and cellphone ban for NYC public school students

With a statewide ban in effect, students will have to be separated from their smartphones for the entire school day, including at lunch.