On this episode: New York City–home to the nation's largest public school district–is planning to ban cell phones in classrooms across all of its roughly 16,000 schools. What would such a policy look like at this scale, and how do parents, educators, and students feel about its efficacy?

Chalkbeat NYC Bureau Chief Amy Zimmer joins the show to bring us up to speed on where the policy stands and when it may go into effect. In the second half of this episode, Ballotpedia staff writer Sam Wonacott shares how these policies have played out in the states and districts that have enforced them to date. 

Learn more about these sorts of policies across the country:  https://ballotpedia.org/State_policies_on_cellphone_use_in_K-12_public_schools 

Read Chalkbeat’s reporting here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/07/17/nyc-school-cellphone-ban-could-take-effect-february-2025/ 

Subscribe to Hall Pass, our education newsletter: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Hall_Pass   

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Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia.

*On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.