NYS budget deal includes "bell-to-bell" school cellphone ban. Here's how it would work.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says a $254 billion state budget deal has been reached, including a "bell-to-bell" school cellphone ban.
The governor's budget is nearly a month late, but it has most of the big-ticket items that she made her priorities -- from bailing out the MTA, to a host of public safety initiatives and help for the middle class in tough economic times.
The delay was due, in part, to her insistence on the public safety measures that will help her run for reelection.
"All I can say is, this is extraordinary. We got everything done that I set out to do, and I'm really, really proud of it," Hochul said Tuesday morning at an upstate child care center.
The tentative agreement now heads to the state legislature for a full vote.
Hochul calls for "bell-to-bell" school cellphone ban
The distraction-free policy would take effect next school year, making New York the largest state in the country with a "bell-to-bell" cellphone ban.
Hochul says the plan will help protect children from addictive technology and improve their mental health. The New York State United Teachers union also came out in support of the ban, saying "we are at a crisis point."
"Protecting our communities requires more than streets where people feel safe. We need classrooms where young minds can flourish, and that means eliminating once and for all the digital distractions that steal our kids' attention," the governor said, adding, "We protected our kids before from cigarettes, alcohol and drunk driving, and now, we're protecting them from addictive technology designed to hijack their attention."
The governor previously outlined the proposal back in January, saying it would ban the use of smartphones and other internet-enabled devices on school grounds during the school day. That includes classroom time, lunch and study hall periods.
"A bell-to-bell ban, morning until the day is over, is not going to hurt your kids. It's going to help them emerge with stronger mental health and resiliency," she told CBS News New York at the time.
Hochul said the ban would include smartphones and other personal "smart" devices, like smartwatches. Exemptions could be made if a student requires a device to manage a medical condition or for translation purposes.
Cellphones that don't have internet capability and devices that are provided by the school for lesson plans would still be allowed.
The proposal would let individual schools come up with their own ways to implement the ban and store the devices, and schools would be able to decide whether to have students leave them in things like pouches, lockers or cubbies.
It would also require schools to make sure parents have a way to contact their children during the day, if needed.
New mask penalty and other public safety initiatives
This year's budget fulfills two other key promises the governor made to voters: increasing public safety and improving affordability. It also funds the MTA's nearly $69 billion capital plan.
When it comes to safety, the agreement struck with state lawmakers includes:
- Making it a misdemeanor to hide your identity with a mask while committing a felony crime, or fleeing the scene of a felony
- Funding to make sure there are police on every subway train overnight
- Lowering the standard for the involuntary commitment of mentally ill people
- Changing the discovery laws to reduce the number of cases thrown out due to technicalities
Inflation refund checks and more affordability measures
As for affordability, the deal also expands the state's child tax credit. Eligible families would get a $1,000 credit for kids younger than 4, and $500 for ages 5 through 16.
There is also $2.2 billion set aside for child care subsidies -- $350 million for New York City parents, and $340 million to provide free breakfast and lunch for every student -- saving families an average of $1,600 per child.
There's also a $1 billion tax cut for middle and low-income New Yorkers, and $400 inflation refund checks for eight million tax payers.
"This is government at its best. This is we can take a problem, we can solve it, and the most important next step is to let them know what we did for them," Hochul said Tuesday. "Bottom line is, we got it done."
However, the Fiscal Policy Institute warns the budget is filled with "fiscal missteps" that could make it difficult to cope with expected cuts from Washington, D.C.
