Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mayor And City Council Continue Fight Over Student Cellphones
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 11, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 11, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Ah, the legislative process at its best. The City Council approved a bill to allow students to bring cellphones to school in July. Of course, this flew in the face of Department of Education policy, which has had a ban on cellphones for years (and the ban has been found to be constitutional), because city and school officials believe that phones are disruptive in class.
Families, including City Council members and their public school-attending children, cite the fact that cellphones are a "lifeline" between students and parents (see these tales of cellphone-less horror). Mayor Bloomberg stuck to his guns and vetoed the bill, only for the City Council to override the veto yesterday. Bloomberg said, "This is a bill that doesn't change anything. You just don't have the right to bring it into the school, and that's not changing. Our teachers have a tough enough job."
So in the end, it's unclear that the City Council bill actually advances the right of the students to bring phones into school, as it comes up against the DOE's rules. City Council member Lew Fidler, who co-sponsored the bill, suggested he might sue the DOE. From the Daily Politics:
"The only time a cell phone becomes an issue is if it's seen or heard," Fidler said. "It's the same under this bill. We're not asking teachers to do anything DOE isn't asking them to do now...Why are we penalizing kids who know how to abide by the rules. Kids who know how to obey rules should have a cell phone for any emergency."
The DOE was going to install cellphone lockers outside a few schools as a pilot, but that program has been delayed (of course) as well as criticized by some.
Students who attend schools that have security and metal detectors to look for weapons sometimes have stores babysit their cellphones or hide them in their clothes. And when the traveling metal detectors come to school, well, hundreds of cellphones can be confiscated.
Tagged
blogs
bloomberg
cell phone
children
city
City Council
education
guns
kids
mayor
mayor bloomberg
News: NYC
Politics
public school
schools
the city
The City Council
The DOE
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani names re-entry specialist as chair of Rikers oversight board
Christopher Watler will help the department that a federal monitor says remains in crisis.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 3:52 p.m. ET
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Legionella found in Staten Island building's water system after 2 positive cases
By
Catalina Gonella
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
By
Jon Campbell
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .