The first week of school is in the books for students from New York City to Long Island, and the state’s new mandated bell-to-bell cellphone ban is taking some getting used to.
Schools across New York state were required to come up with their own procedures to implement the full-day ban.
CBS News New York’s Carolyn Gusoff and Doug Williams found out how distraction-free learning is going and if students are getting over their device dependency.
“At lunch, we’ll all talk the whole period”
At Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington, a special bell has been added to the school day marking the daily deadline for ditching devices. Electronics are only allowed for lessons and internal school email.
Suddenly, digital natives no longer have heads down and ears plugged. Instead of talking to text, they’re talking to each other.
“At first, I was really torn up about it. And then, now, I kind of, like, like at lunch, we’ll all talk the whole period,” 12th grader Jack Kuenstler said.
Students at Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington say they’re talking to each other more at lunchtime now that cellphones are banned during the day.
CBS News New York
But some students admit, it’s a hard addiction to break.
“You’re used to playing to music in the hallways or listening to music during class or something like that, so it’s really hard,” 12th grader Ryan Perillo said.
“It’s such a habit that I always had [my cellphone]. That’s why I feel like it’s weird. But I feel like it’s good, though, because I’m more focused in class,” 11th grader Isabella David said.
But some students have discovered a loophole.
“Emailing throughout the day. We all figured that out, sort of,” 12th grader Demi Botta said. “We can still talk but still be respectful to the ban.”
“The kids are actually being kids and interacting with their peers”
“I was apprehensive. Now, I see the positives of it,” Walt Whitman High School Principal John Murphy said.
Murphy favored their previous policy of no phones during just academic periods, but so far gives the bell-to-bell ban high marks.
“There’s been an uptick in positive energy. We’ve been able to see students really actively engaged,” he said.
Board games are suddenly a hit in the lunch room.
“The kids are actually being kids and interacting with their peers. I think that was what the heart of this initiative was,” Murphy said.
Board games have become a hit during lunch at Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington.
CBS News New York
“The last few years with the phones, it’s really like an epidemic, and I couldn’t get through a lesson without the notifications going off. And I feel like learning suffered,” teacher Kathleen O’Neill said.
Now, there are new lessons.
“We are actually having mock conversations with students because they’re not used to having a conversation. They’re use to [texting],” O’Neill said.
So far, the school says there have only been three smuggling violations. In those instances, phones can be confiscated, and repeat offenders could face suspension.
If a student needs to phone home during the school day, there are more landlines now throughout the building, and parents can phone or email school staff to make immediate contact with their student.
“Being on a phone, I feel like it really just takes you away”
Reviews in New York City, however, were all over the map.
City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos spent an hour at New Pathways Academy in the Bronx on Friday and asked students what the ban has been like.
“It’s easier to interact with people. ‘Cause sometimes when you’re with your friends, talking to them, telling them stuff, sometimes they’re just scrolling on their phone, just … not listening to anything you’re saying,” one student said.
“Having a release from your phone can give them a take time to break, focus, help them improve their skills,” student Sevier Lugo said.
“It gives us more time to focus,” another student said.
New York’s statewide ban on cellphones in schools went into effect in September 2025.
CBS News New York
“Me, I’m a very extroverted person. I like to be around people. Being on a phone, I feel like it really just takes you away,” Sevier said.
It hasn’t all been glowing reviews, however.
Thursday, some students on the Upper West Side told CBS News New York they didn’t like how their phones were stored, and one concerned mom said her daughter’s phone was still off at pickup.
A student in Queens described her fears of not being able to contact her parents in an emergency.
When a hazmat situation developed at a school in Westchester County on Thursday, one mom said the ban was helpful.
“I was actually pleased that they didn’t have phones because I think there would have probably been more confusion,” she said. “Getting just one message from the school is probably better than a million different rumors.”
Aviles-Ramos says she does plan to have conversations with students at schools still figuring out the process.
More from CBS News