Albany lawmakers get on board with Gov. Hochul’s ‘bell to bell’ school phone ban

Saved by the bells!

Lawmakers in both houses of the state legislature are getting behind Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to restrict kids’ phone use during the school day.

The Senate had previously shown some slight disagreement with the Governor’s plan over whether schools should have some leeway to allow students to use phones at some points during the school day – for instance, during recess or in-between classes.

“The majority of the members are more comfortable with a bell-to-bell approach,” state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) revealed to reporters Wednesday.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) suggested that his chamber was largely in agreement that the policy should be bell-to-bell.

“The conference is probably much closer on bell-to-bell,’ the speaker said Tuesday.

Under Hochul’s proposal, school districts would have to develop a plan that prohibits students from using devices like phones from “bell-to-bell”. The governor also included a pot of $13.5 million to help schools implement the requirement.

“I think we’re going to come out with something that puts kids first, that doesn’t make teachers enforcers,” Senate Education Committee Chair Shelley Mayer (D-Westchester), told The Post.

“I have a lot of admiration for school districts that have tried to do this on their own and I’m confident we’ll come out with a very good result that everyone will think is the right way forward,” Mayer said.

While a deal over the budget is still not in sight, the remarks from the legislative leaders are a sign that talks – at least over some of the easier-to-tackle issues – are progressing.