TAKE THAT, SCREENAGERS!: Gov. Kathy Hochul is coming for your cellphone, kids. Hochul is finally expected to reveal more about her push to snatch those smartphones out of the hands of New York’s students later this month. “We’ve got to talk about cellphones in schools,” she said today, during an event with Capital Region students in Troy. Hochul –– New York’s first Mom (and Grandma) governor –– has made it a priority to address the connection between technology use and a rising mental health crisis among children and teens. “One young woman said, ‘You’ve gotta save us from ourselves, we can’t put it down ‘cause we’re afraid we’re gonna miss something,’” she said, recalling an interaction that touched her so deeply she made it a point to repeat it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Luckily, it appears Hochul is saving her. Last year, the governor teamed up with Attorney General Letitia James, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Assemblymember Nily Rozic and teachers’ unions to prohibit social media algorithms for kids. And this year, she will include restrictions against cell phone use in schools as part of her executive budget next week. “Kids are spiraling,” Hochul said in September. “They're not paying attention in class. They're being bullied all day long. They don't have a break from it.” The governor first hinted at her plans to clamp down on smartphone use in schools in the spring. She was initially looking at all options, but eventually settled on legislation. New York is set to join a growing number of states that have taken such steps, including California, Texas and Florida. The battle has also played out in New York City, where divisions over whether to implement a systemwide ban played a role in frictions between Mayor Eric Adams and former schools Chancellor David Banks. Adams pulled the plug on that effort, in a blow to Banks, who vowed at the end of June to unveil a policy within weeks. The chancellor abruptly resigned a few months later after federal agents seized his devices in an unrelated matter. Hochul’s move comes two years after she announced her $1 billion plan to address mental health during her State of the State address in 2023. As part of that plan, she expanded access to mental health care for teens, adding funding for over 130 school-based mental health clinics and boosted insurance reimbursement rates for those services. — Madina Touré and Jason Beeferman
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