Mayor Adams, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos Announce Passage of New York City Public Schools' new Cell Phone and Electronic Device Policy for Upcoming School Year

July 23, 2025

Policy Reflects Extensive Stakeholder Engagement and Input,   
Complies with State Mandate Passed in Albany Earlier This Year

$25 Million in Funding for School Implementation Part of  
Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget, Building on “Best Budget Ever”

Investments Continue Adams Administration’s Commitment to  
Making New York City Best Place to Raise a Family

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos today announced an updated “Cell Phone and Electronic Device Policy,” the implementation of which will provide for a citywide standard for distraction-free schools starting this coming academic year. This change — part of proposed amendments to Chancellor’s Regulation A-413 — was approved by the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) tonight to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for all students and align with a recent mandate passed by New York state Legislature. To comply with the state law, Mayor Adams allocated $25 million to help with implementation of the policy at the 1,600 public schools across the five boroughs in the Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget, which builds on the Fiscal Year Executive Budget, often called the “Best Budget Ever.” The state has allocated $4.3 million to help with implementation.

“Our kids are in school to learn, but, too often, cell phones are used in manners that are distracting, degrading, and dangerous to our young people. The state cell phone ban was the first step in putting our kids back on track to learn and thrive in safe, nurturing environments, and this new cell phone policy is the next step in ensuring students are given the best shot to succeed in school,” said Mayor Adams. “We know that excessive cell phone use is harmful to our children’s concentration and mental health, and, with this new policy, we will finally reduce distractions as we help our students reach their full potential. We are proud to have engaged in a thorough citywide process that balances the learning needs of our students with the safety concerns of our families. And, thanks to our ‘Best Budget Ever,’ we are ensuring our schools have the funding to get this done with a $25 million investment for implementation this coming school year. We will continue to advocate for additional state resources and will work closely with our school communities to ensure compliance and long-term sustainability because making New York City the best place to raise a family means ensuring our students have everything they need.”

“As an educator and a parent, I have seen firsthand how constant access to cell phones in the classroom distracts from learning, divides attention, and significantly impacts our students’ mental health, inside schools and at home. I am proud to be introducing a policy that takes input from unions and advocacy groups, families, community members, and our students into account,” said Public Schools Chancellor Aviles-Ramos. “This policy is designed to be responsive to the diverse needs of schools, individual students, and families, and I am grateful to all of our partners for their hard work in moving this policy forward.”

Under the revised regulation, starting in the 2025-2026 school year, personal internet-enabled devices — such as smartphones, tablets, and smart watches — cannot be used during the school day by students. Students can use their devices when traveling to and from school, but they must be turned off and put away during the school day. As part of the revised policy, schools will be required to provide at least one method for families to reach their children during the school day in the case of an emergency, provide a secure way to store devices, and annually provide staff and families with information about school-specific policies.

Additionally, the updated Chancellor’s Regulations include specific exceptions to the policy for students who need devices for medical reasons, are responsible for the care of a family member, have a stipulation in their Individual Education Program, or if a device is authorized for a specific educational purpose.

This work comes on the heels of multi-year consultations with school communities and alongside the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop well-rounded policies that meet the needs of those in New York City Public Schools. Following recent changes in New York state law, over the previous six weeks, New York City Public Schools has been working together with partners across the city to institutionalize a long-lasting and equitable policy focused on dovetailing with specific school communities. In the early stages of this policy, New York City Public Schools partnered with the PEP, advisory councils, parent leaders, elected officials, unions, advocacy groups, teachers, principals, superintendents, and students.

Today’s announcement further builds on the Adams administration's core educational accomplishments for New York City public school students, including implementing a major literacy initiative through “NYC Reads;” instituting nation-leading dyslexia supports; expanding Gifted and Talented Programs; increasing math and English test scores in the past and making strong academic gains in 2025; building nine new schools for the 2024-2025 school year alone; helping students prepare for college and careers; cementing new labor contracts for teachers, principals, and staff; and, most recently, unveiling a signature math initiative, “NYC Solves,” as well as creating the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning to prioritize the city's most vulnerable students and families, including multi-language learners and students with disabilities.

Recently, Mayor Adams announced the city will hire 3,700 new teachers at nearly 750 schools to help the school system reduce class sizes and provide more individualized care, as well as announced the investment of $128 million to stabilize school budgets in upcoming school year. In Fiscal Year 2025, the city invested over $600 million to protect programs that were previously only temporarily funded with federal stimulus dollars, by making investments in Summer Rising, a citywide 3-K expansion, special education pre-K, community schools, social workers, and arts education. Under Mayor Adams' leadership, the administration invested nearly $1 billion for major five-year teacher, principal, and staff pay increases in October 2023.

Over the last three years, the Adams administration has been focused on making New York City more affordable for families through popular and essential programs like early childhood education. Recently, Mayor Adams announced $167 million investment in long-term commitment to funding 3-K and special education pre-K annually. Under the Adams administration, a record 150,000 children are enrolled across the early childhood education system today, the out-of-pocket costs of child care subsidies have been reduced from $55 per week in 2022 to $5 per week today, and the Adams administration met its commitment to offer a seat to every child who applied for 3-K on time — the first time this has ever been done in the city’s history.

Starting in January, Mayor Adams is launching “After-School for All,” a historic and new $331 million commitment — phased in starting this fiscal year and fully baselined by Fiscal Year 2028 — and that will bring the after-school budget to a total of $755 million in an effort to support Mayor Adams’ vision of universal after-school for all public students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Additionally, in the Best Budget Ever, Mayor Adams also announced $70 million in funding to support pre-K special education students who require occupational therapy, speech therapy, or other related services, as well as $10 million in funding for a childcare pilot program for 0-2 year-olds that will serve low-income families across New York City. The pilot program — a first for a major city in the U.S. to offer — put New York City on the path to provide universal child care to low-income families if the pilot is successful.

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