The largest public school system in the U.S. welcomed students to the first day of school on Thursday, and the mayor and school chancellor stopped by an elementary school in Brooklyn to give kids some high fives.
With nearly a million students starting school across New York City, several issues are at the forefront for Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor David Banks, including the new smaller class size law, teacher shortage, and mental health concerns. With talks of New York State looking to ban cellphones in schools in the next legislative session, the city is keeping a close eye on some schools that have already implemented their own rules.
Banks said more than half of city schools are expected to have some kind of a phone ban in place for the 2024-2025 school year, and the Department of Education will be looking to learn for them.
"So it's not a system-wide ban, but we're going to study those 800 schools because they're doing it in different ways, and we want to learn from that. We want to see what the impact has been," Banks told reporters outside PS 257 in Williamsburg as Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" blasted in the background.
Adams added that Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan will put out a "strong recommendation" for city schools to limit cellphone use.
"What we don't want to do is put out a ban and then have to reverse it," the mayor said, acknowledging the negative effects social media use on smartphones can have on kids. "We want to do it right and make sure students understand why we're doing it."
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In a recent report, New York City health officials found that the frequency of social media use is associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in teens and adults.
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Despite the potential negative experiences on social media, such platforms may be unavoidable for many and mental health experts have preached mindful usage and talk therapy to mitigate the cons of being constantly connected to the internet.
NYC teens do have free access to online therapy and mental health support, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reminded the public as the school year began.
Other school districts in New York state have also implemented their own ban. NBC New York's Chris Glorioso talked to students in Newburgh about the impact. Watch "Generation Text" below:
