In 2024, NYSUT mobilized with partners to fight against addictive algorithms and protect the data of our children. This led to historic legislation passing to limit what social media companies can show kids and restrict those companies trying to profit off them.
Building off of that success, NYSUT began looking at providing distraction-free learning environments for students and educators. Members highlighted the issue of cellphone use during class on school visits across the state. Knowing what the problem was, NYSUT began looking for a solution. This resulted in the Disconnected conference in Albany in the fall of 2024, bringing together experts in law enforcement, mental health, education and districts where they had already successfully implemented distraction-free learning to find the best way forward.
Coming out of the Disconnected conference, NYSUT advocated for bell-to-bell restrictions on cellphone and personal electronic device usage, to give students seven phone-free hours a day to learn and be kids. This proposal was supported by many parent groups, along with members of law enforcement. The governor included the proposal in her executive budget, setting the stage for a push for a statewide, but locally controlled, policy.
NYSUT convened several regional Disconnected conferences, bringing the conversation directly to communities so they could share best practices for policies and implementation. More and more, lawmakers heard that bell-to-bell distraction-free learning was necessary for improved learning conditions and improving mental health among students. A bell-to-bell restriction is expected to be included in the 2025 New York budget.
NYSUT delegates were joined by Greece Arcadia High School student Michael Salters who extolled the virtues of distraction-free schools, saying, “with the phones away, there were suddenly less fights. And there were other changes too … it makes a difference, for the better.”