The 2025-2026 school year has begun, and several significant changes have been implemented in how we utilize technology throughout the school day. In New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul has implemented a statewide phone ban in public schools as part of an effort to protect students’ mental well-being and promote success in the digital age. This phone policy prohibits the use of any internet-enabled device on school grounds, including during students’ lunch and study halls. 

Although Hochul has promoted phone-free environments as a way to aid learning, the financial data offers another perspective. In 2024, Yondr spent $50,000 lobbying New York State officials to implement cell-phone-free zones. This resulted in Hochul allocating $13.5 million to help districts purchase storage solutions for internet-enabled devices. But New York is not alone; in the past eight years, 41 states have spent $2.5 million on purchasing pouches from Yondr, and according to data from GovSpend, Yondr has received $5 million from government contracts. Using Albany City School District’s enrollment data from 2023-2024 for 6th-12th grade, and with the retail value of a Yondr pouch being $30, the estimated cost of this policy is $130,470, not including the unlocker magnets. Yondr is benefiting substantially from governmental policies that impact students and stands to gain significantly from these restrictions.

In the Albany City School District, the use of Yondr pouches has been implemented to limit access to phones during the school day. This policy has received both mounting criticism from students and praise from teachers. With this in mind, the Nest Newspaper has asked Albany High’s students and faculty about their feelings regarding the phone ban. We received a variety of feedback; however, we received no responses from our freshmen. Here is some of what they had to say. From a sophomore: “I think it’s good because it can actually possibly improve people’s learning because they won’t be glued to their phones. I’m at least fine with it as long as I have music.” 

However, not all students see it as only a mild inconvenience, from a junior: “…but America generally doesn’t feel safe enough for a phone ban with school shootings & ICE patrols. It’s inconvenient when we’re exiting the building and everything is just so crowded. Even when we’re entering, and the lines are so long, it takes extra time to get to 1st period… social anxiety will exist with or without the phones; that’s not something that’s so easy to manage in the snap of a finger…Not to mention, you can take “distractions” from kids, but you can’t force them to focus! Some kids simply will not, regardless of their access to phones. It’s a complex situation, but I’m not particularly favorable of all technology being banned.” 

This policy has brought up some unforeseen challenges, as this senior states, “​I feel like it sets a dangerous precedent; without our phones, students lack access to any sort of information that the district has decided to block on our Chromebooks. Many of the things restricted are often arbitrary and frequently changing. I am unable to access YouTube, a vital study material…The current methods for students to contact parents is arguably much more intrusive to learning than quickly sending a text. It requires interrupting class to acquire a pass, and missing class all to make a phone call in an academy office about potentially private matters, with zero privacy, as it’s done at the secretary’s desk in front of everyone.

I have personally had to discuss private health matters with my mother in a very busy office, and the lack of privacy made me deeply uncomfortable…I am a senior, I will be a legal adult in a few short months, and I wish to be treated as such. If I can’t learn to regulate my phone usage in the relatively low-risk environment of high school, then I am doomed to fail in college, where there is no one looking over my shoulder to ensure I am not on my phone during class…Smartphone technology is integral to our modern society, and demonizing its presence in the classroom as opposed to embracing it as the tool it was just last year, merely sets students up for failure.”

Although students are offering sharp criticism of the phone policy, many faculty members consider it a positive change. One commenting, “I love it! I’m seeing students talking with each other, connecting in real life and giving more attention to lessons and activities than I have before…” Another noted, “…. Removing cell phones has not solved all issues related to student engagement, but a significantly higher percentage of students are engaged each day, and I have not once had to stop teaching to deal with an electronics issue.” Finally, “As a teacher, it is making my life easier by not telling people to get off their phones. I like that students are talking and interacting with people more. As a citizen, I’m not a fan of our government telling us when and how we can communicate.”

​One thing we know for sure is that cell phones are not going away, we must learn as a society to adapt to them rather than shut them out. Yondr pouches are merely a band-aid on the gaping wound that is the debate over cellphones in the classroom. Only time will tell how these Yondr pouches may affect student behavior and learning or if this policy makes a difference.