By Sienna Jade Olivares
One month into the school year, Commack High School students and teachers said they were surprised by the positive changes resulting from the new state-mandated “bell-to-bell” cell-phone ban.
New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul first proposed the ban in January. The policy was then included in the state budget and signed into law in May, taking effect for the 2025-26 school year for all K-12 public schools.
The state-mandated cell-phone ban requires students to leave their phones in their lockers from the beginning of the school day until the last bell. This prevents students from sending quick texts or checking social media.
With the new law in effect, all eyes are on how students will respond to the ban.
“The first few weeks there were definitely people either keeping them in their bags or pockets and just trying to take a quick peek if teachers weren’t looking,” said Dylan Pepesca, a Commack High School junior.
While students are adapting to the phone ban, Pepesca has found students more communal at lunch this year. “There were a lot of people on their phones in the last few minutes of my lunch period last year. This year, we’re all talking. We’re discussing different topics. Some even bring card games for fun,” he said.
Pepesca also finds more students getting involved in extracurricular activities this year. “Being a part of the golf team, I’ve seen some freshmen trying out. They seem really interested in these new clubs and new opportunities we have here,” he said. “Future Business Leaders of America is a nationally recognized club that they hold here, and there were a lot of freshmen and sophomores who were very interested in joining the club and participating in all activities.”
Gianna Solch, Commack High senior, elaborated on how the phone ban affects her school day. “It’s a little frustrating not being able to have our phones because I have a lot of free periods and I have to sit there and either not do anything or do all my work,” she said.
Soch’s mother, Julia Solch, shared her thoughts on how important it is to communicate with her children in today’s climate of school incidents. “I don’t like the emergency aspect of” her daughter not having a phone, she said. “In this day and age, with all the stuff that goes on in school, God forbid something was to ever happen, I can’t reach them.”
Still, within the first month of school, Commack High Principal Carrie Lipenholtz said she had already seen improvements in the students’ interpersonal skills in the hallways. “Their heads were in their phones as they were talking last year, but now I see eye contact, and I actually see them having those face-to-face communication skills that we want everyone to have,” she said.
In hopes of a seamless transition, Commack High School’s director of technology and innovation has did something the school has never done before. Students can now access tools on their Chromebook, such as Gmail, to communicate with students and parents throughout the school day.
One of Hochul’s objectives behind the “bell-to-bell” cell-phone ban was to reduce smartphone use in schools and ensure a productive, distraction-free environment.
Andrea Kelman Bryan, a college-level English teacher at the high school for 24 years, knew something felt different this school year, but she couldn’t quite figure out what. After the second week, she noticed a difference.
“There were fewer bathroom breaks, fewer hands to go to the office or go to the nurse,” she said.
Bryan finds that fewer disruptions allow students to draw connections and interpret material at a faster pace this year. She’s also seeing greater engagement with class assignments and discussions. “I can have more substantive interactions with [the students] about their work, and I can add more,” she said.
As students begin drawing deeper connections during class, Bryan is finding a need to restructure her teaching methods. “I have found myself not feeling as needed to give homework, because we are getting through all the material in the classroom,” she said.
“I’m glad I’m in the classroom to see it and experience the phone ban. It has been a great start to the school year, it’s exciting,” she said.
“Even though the phone ban has had many benefits, there could be negatives,” said Mathew Keltos, assistant principal of Commack High School. While the ban prevents cell-phone use at school, this may lead to an increased smartphone usage after school.
Trying to make up for lost time during the school day, students could spend hours catching up on the latest news on social media. That time could take away from not only homework and studying, but also family time.
Keltos suggests students should have a well-balanced phone “diet” to stay productive outside the classroom and reduce hours of scrolling. Keltos noted the screentime feature on smartphones to help students track how much time they spend on their phones.
Keltos has also found benefits from the phone ban. Students have created “Keeping Up With Keltos,” for which five students are invited to lunch in his office to discuss college plans.
“These are five random students that I would never have probably had conversations with, so there was a true benefit to that,” he said.
