| July 7, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
As part of the Fiscal Year 2026 State Budget, New York State schools will be required to implement a distraction-free school policy. In line with this new directive, each school district, charter school, and BOCES must adopt a written policy by August 1, 2025, prohibiting the use of internet-enabled devices by students during the school day anywhere on school grounds. The policy:
· May include exceptions (if authorized by a teacher/principal/district/BOCES for a specific educational purpose; for student healthcare management; the event of an emergency; translation services; where required by law; or when included in a student IEP or 504 plan).
· Creates an exception on a case-by-case basis determined by a school psychologist, social worker, or counselor if the student is a caregiver.
· Requires schools to consult with local stakeholders when developing policies and prohibits schools from suspending students only on the grounds of violation of the policy.
The policy must also include one or more methods for parents or guardians to contact their children during the school day, with written notification of these methods provided to families. Additionally, the policy must address on-site storage for student devices. Schools are required to publish an enforcement report annually and mitigate statistically significant disparities in enforcement based on demographics by September 1, 2026.
Additional information is available at: www.ny.gov/distractionfree. A short survey will be released in the SEDMON portal the week of July 7, 2025, for districts to provide a link to where the plan/policy is posted. Allocations to LEAs will also be made available the week of July 7, 2025. |
