NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a ban on smartphones in schools, in an aim to keep children safe online.
The governor announced on Thursday she plans to introduce new legislation to protect children's mental health by banning smartphone use during school hours.
"Why are young people on their devices all day long during school hours? How are they learning? How are they multitasking in a way that they're checking out what everybody's going to be doing this weekend and scrolling and seeing different feeds and listening to their geometry class?" Hochul said.
Hochul later said she's OK with children having flip phones in school, for students to contact parents or loved ones.
The bill to ban smartphones in schools could be submitted later this year and voted on in next year's session, according to Hochul.
Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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