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Court Upholds Cell Phone Ban in NYC Schools
by
findingDulcinea Staff
An appellate court has ruled that New York City can prohibit cell phones on school grounds, a move some say puts students at risk.
30-Second Summary
New York Supreme Court Judge Angela M. Mazzarelli ruled on April 22 that the New York City Department of Education is justified in banning cell phones, upsetting both students and parents.
Since instituting the ban in September 2005, the city has been battling parents who argue that cell phones are a vital way of staying in touch with children, especially in emergency situations.
Although Judge Mazzarelli said the court was “not unsympathetic” to the safety concerns of parents, she also wrote that adults are partly to blame for the devices’ disruptive potential. “If adults cannot be fully trusted to practice proper cell phone etiquette, then neither can children,” reads Mazzarelli’s ruling.
Pennsylvania teacher Kristopher Kaufman echoes the judge’s sentiments, writing that “students are often easily distracted as it is, and a cell phone going off in a classroom can end the learning process as effectively as any fire drill.”
However, Seattle history teacher Richard Mollette writes that the mere ubiquity of the devices makes banning them a losing battle. Instead, he makes students put them on vibrate, and “if it rings during class, the student must surrender the phone and I get to answer it.”
Gotham parents, with the support of the teacher’s union and the City Council, have vowed to continue fighting the ban, which lawyer Norman Siegel calls “unconstitutional and illegal.”
Since instituting the ban in September 2005, the city has been battling parents who argue that cell phones are a vital way of staying in touch with children, especially in emergency situations.
Although Judge Mazzarelli said the court was “not unsympathetic” to the safety concerns of parents, she also wrote that adults are partly to blame for the devices’ disruptive potential. “If adults cannot be fully trusted to practice proper cell phone etiquette, then neither can children,” reads Mazzarelli’s ruling.
Pennsylvania teacher Kristopher Kaufman echoes the judge’s sentiments, writing that “students are often easily distracted as it is, and a cell phone going off in a classroom can end the learning process as effectively as any fire drill.”
However, Seattle history teacher Richard Mollette writes that the mere ubiquity of the devices makes banning them a losing battle. Instead, he makes students put them on vibrate, and “if it rings during class, the student must surrender the phone and I get to answer it.”
Gotham parents, with the support of the teacher’s union and the City Council, have vowed to continue fighting the ban, which lawyer Norman Siegel calls “unconstitutional and illegal.”
Headline Links: Judge OKs school cell phone ban
The New York DOE argued that cell phones are not only disruptive, but are also being used to cheat in class and harass students. Parents responded by saying that the devices are “a ‘lifeline’ for families trying to reach their students, particularly during their commutes and after-school activities.”
Source: CNet
The opinion of Judge Angela M. Mazzarelli is available on the Web site of the New York State Court Unified Court System.
Source: The New York State Unified Court System
Background: No ‘Constitutional Right to Bear Cell Phones’
On May 8, 2007, popular New York blog Gothamist reported that “Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Lewis Bart Stone ruled that the DOE could continue to ban cell phones.” The blog goes on to write that The New York Times quotes Stone as saying, “Neither the state nor federal constitutions include any express constitutional right to bear cellphones."
Source: Gothamist
Reactions: Parents and students decry ruling
Parent-advocates lawyer Norman Siegel reacted to the ruling by saying, “We strongly believe that the Department of Education’s prohibition on the possession of cell phones in schools is unconstitutional and illegal.”
Source: New York Daily News
The New York Post reports that “students, many of whom have found ways to skirt the policy or who attend schools where officials look the other way, derided the decision and said it wouldn’t change their behavior. ‘I’ve had my phone taken away twice for text-messaging in class … but my mom insists I take it with me,’ said Kira Fahey, 13, a student at the Manhattan school NEST+m. ‘I call her when I get to school every day and I call her when I get out.’”
Source: New York Post
Opinion & Analysis: Should cell phones be banned?
A 2004 article from the National Education Association offers a number of teachers’ perspectives on the presence of cell phones in schools. Pennsylvania educator Kristopher Kaufman thinks they should be banned, writing that “cell phones, like many other electronic devices, can be a distraction. Students need to learn when and where a cell phone can be appropriate.” However, teacher Richard Mollette argues that banning the devices is an impossibility. Instead, he deters students by answering any phone that rings during his class. “Last year, I talked to two girlfriends, three boyfriends, and a mother. There were no repeat incidents.”
Source: FindArticles
In a letter to the editors of the Baltimore Sun, Owings Mills writes that "one way to ease the potential for school violence would be to prohibit cell phones on school grounds. … That way, no one would be tempted to pull some foolish prank simply to get his or her cell phone video on YouTube. Drug-dealing on school grounds might also be hampered by a ban on cell phones.”
Source: Baltimore Sun
Discussing whether it is constitutional for administrators to confiscate and search the cell phones of students, Rocky Mountain News writes that schools “have the right to require that cell phones be turned off during classes. Indeed, we can’t imagine why any school would invite classroom disruption by adopting any other policy. If parents need to reach their children in an emergency, they can still call the school office.”
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Related Topics: The ring tone teachers can’t hear and cell phone hazards
In June 2006, the Associated Press reported that students around the country had begun downloading a high-pitched ring tone to their cell phones that most teachers—and other adults—are unable to hear. “The ring tone is a spin-off of technology that was originally meant to repel teenagers—not help them. A Welsh security company developed the tone to help shopkeepers disperse young people loitering in front of their stores while leaving adults unaffected,” writes the AP.
Source: MSNBC (Associated Press)
Walking into lampposts and other objects while sending text messages is yet another item on a seemingly endless list of dangers to preoccupied cell phone users.
Source: findingDulcinea
Despite a good deal of evidence to the contrary, an Australian neurosurgeon says cell phones “may be riskier than smoking” when it comes to cancer.
Source: findingDulcinea
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