Cambridge Central School District was one of the first districts in the tri-county area to enact a bell-to-bell student cellphone policy last year. And according to Ralph Harrington, Cambridge CSD’s secondary associate principal, the results speak for themselves.
“Disciplinary referrals [for cellphone use] went to nil,” he told The Post-Star, adding that, prior to the policy, cellphones in schools attributed to a significant amount of bullying and harassment, with students recording each other’s actions around campus and then sharing the videos online to make fun of them, among other harmful acts. Videos would spread, making some students not want to show up for class. Bullying via cellphone and social media became a real threat to each student’s wellbeing, but Harrington said after students got used to the cellphone policy, “all those peripheral issues disappeared.”
Harrington has been with the district since 2009 and was the point person for the school’s cellphone policy. But before establishing Cambridge’s cellphone rules, he and his team thoroughly researched the policies at other districts in the state and the projected impact of smartphones and social media on developing minds. They also held conversations with parents, teachers, and the school board.
In the end, the school district decided not to ban cellphones outright. Instead, each student who decides to bring a cellphone into school has to place it in a Yondr pouch that locks the cellphone inside at the start of the day. Then, at the end of the day, the pouch is unlocked and students regain access to their phones, hence the phrase “bell-to-bell.” Students staying after school for various activities have full access to their cellphones.
The new state law prohibits cellphone use by students on school grounds “from bell-to-bell,” but not cellphone possession. Under the law, school districts are allowed to draft their own cellphone policies. Some could issue total bans, others could go the route of providing Yondr pouches, like Cambridge. The state has allocated $13.5 million for schools to purchase storage options like the Yondr pouch.
The law also stipulates that schools must still provide a way for parents to contact their children. Some may revert back to the pre-cellphone days and just allow parents to call the main office, or others may provide access to classrooms directly, whichever the school district opts to allow.
“The No. 1 concern [from parents] was, ‘What if I want to get a hold of my child in an emergency?’” said Harrington. He told parents that the pouches could be cut open with scissors if needed. But, he also said the police have warned against excessive phone use during emergencies. When too many people are calling each other at the same time during an emergency, it can jam the phone lines and disrupt emergency communications among the first responders on the scene.
Cellphones in general are also distraction machines. Harrington described one classroom experiment (not in Cambridge) where the teacher told all students to turn on every notification their phones had … including emails, various social media apps, calls, and other alerts. Every time an alert went off on a student’s phone, they had to go to the chalk board to mark it down. By the end of the 45-minute class, over 450 alerts had been counted. Harrington described it as a “physical interruption” during each class.
“You wouldn’t allow a child to bring a television into class and put in on their desk … but we give them access to cellphones that do so much more …”
But he says the teachers at Cambridge have already seen a difference.
Overall, he sees the policy as a marked improvement, helping students to “break the cycle” of constant cellphone use.
Now every other district must follow suit in some capacity to abide by the state law. To them, Harrington said he applauds any district that tackles the cellphone problem. He also urged parents to become aware of their child’s cellphone use.
In recent weeks, local school districts have been sharing their new cellphone policies ahead of the upcoming school year. But most do align with each other, in an effort to meet state standards.
HUDSON FALLS
In Hudson Falls, the school district said it consulted with local stakeholders, including employee organizations, parents, and students to develop its policy, which prohibits the use of “Internet-enabled devices” by students during the school day on school grounds.
“This policy aims to ensure that students remain focused on their academic responsibilities throughout the school day, which includes all instructional and non-instructional periods such as homeroom, lunch, recess, study halls, and passing time,” the policy states.
Exemptions include those for educational purposes, when necessary for the management of a student’s health, in certain emergencies, and on a case-by-case basis.
The district will provide students with cellphone storage areas during the school day, including “magnetic pouches, student lockers, or designated cubbies in classrooms.”
The school district will be hosting a UPK-12 Parent Night on Tuesday, August 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Superintendent Dan Ward and principals from each school will be on hand to discuss the procedures for their specific buildings and outline the key details as it pertains to the law. The middle and high schools will be implementing the use of Yondr pouches and a representative from Yondr will also be on hand to present and answer any questions parents may have.
In a statement, the school district said, “The Hudson Falls Central School District wants families to know we are here to work with them in maintaining an environment focused on learning, while also staying compliant to New York State Law.”
QUEENSBURY
When asked about the changes at the Queensbury school district, Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon said, “Not a lot is changing here at Queensbury. Queensbury enforced a similar cellphone procedure for the 2024-25 school year at all our schools, except at the high school where students were allowed to use their personal devices only during lunch. That will change this year as the school adheres to the new bell-to-bell state rules.”
The school district will also provide exemptions similar to those at Hudson Falls.
Regarding the initial policy, Queensbury High School Principal Andrew Snide added, “The teachers noticed right away that students were more engaged in the classrooms. I noticed it most in the hallways that students were talking to each other instead of looking at their phones. There was an energy about it. Students weren’t feeling the pressure of having to respond to messages on their phones. Instead, they were engaged in the moment.”
LAKE GEORGE
The Lake George school district issued different policies for the high school and elementary school. For the high school, students must store their devices in their lockers, and they must remain on silent and/or vibrate, or powered off at all times while in storage and cannot access them throughout the day. Students in violation will have their phones turned in to the main office for the duration of the day, along with a disciplinary referral.
Superintendent John Luthringer said, “The biggest shift in Lake George’s cellphone policy is moving from our existing policy of restricting access during instructional times to a bell-to-bell restriction for all Internet-enabled devices, including non-instructional periods such as the lunch period. This aligns with the new statewide mandate for the upcoming school year.
“We know numerous studies highlight the challenges smartphones pose to student focus and overall well-being. Our hope is that this updated policy will reduce student distractions, enhance opportunities for genuine peer engagement, and ultimately foster a more positive and productive learning environment for all students.”
Each school district had make their policy known and available to the public by August 1; see your local school’s website for additional information.
© 2025 The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
