Governor Kathy Hochul visited Spencerport on August 8 for a roundtable with Finger Lakes region school leaders, parents and students to highlight their plans for implementing bell-to-bell smartphone restrictions when school resumes this fall. The roundtable included representatives of Monroe-2 Orleans BOCES, Rochester City School District, Greece Central School District, Holley Central School District and Spencerport Central School District — all of whom have already finalized their distraction-free policy. The event is one of several roundtable roundtables being held by the Governor throughout the state before the start of school.
As of the meeting, nearly 950 public school districts, charter schools and BOCES across New York State had submitted their distraction-free policy to State education officials — representing 86 percent of the 1,098 total districts and schools covered by the requirement. Additional districts and schools are expected to finalize their policy in the coming days at upcoming school board meetings scheduled for August.
The Distraction-Free Schools law signed by Governor Hochul requires bell-to-bell smartphone restrictions in K-12 school districts statewide, starting this fall for the 2025-2026 school year. Her policy creates a statewide standard for distraction-free schools in New York including:…