LACKAWANNA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Do you think cell phones should be allowed in the classroom? Lackawanna City School District officials say no.

The district is implementing a new “No Cell Phones, Starting at School” policy for the upcoming school year, prohibiting students in grades 6-12 from using cell phones/electronic devices during the school day.

The policy has sparked controversy and raised questions about how it will be enforced. School leaders say the intention is to stop cellphone misuse, including children taking videos during the school day and cyberbullying. They also want to eliminate distractions from online games, scrolling, music and notifications.

Research has shown that cell phone use can lead to increased anxiety, loneliness and depression. Despite all the reasons to ban them in schools, parents and students still have major concerns about a complete ban. They brought those concerns to Lackawanna High School on Monday, where school administrators held the first of two town hall meetings on the policy. We spoke with students, parents and administrators.

The school district provides secure, lockable cell phone bags for all students. Students place their cell phones in the bags at the beginning of the day. The bags remain locked and in their possession throughout the day. The bags are unlocked at the end of the day.

“If they intentionally cut them up, they are unusable… there are consequences,” said Superintendent Nadia Nashir. “If they bring a disposable phone, there are consequences.”

Nashir said teachers are tired of distractions and giving up cell phones would help everyone focus on learning.

“Our teachers cannot compete with the 95 notifications students receive in 43 minutes,” Nashir said.

She said the majority of teachers were in favor of the new policy.

“Many of them said, ‘I’m going to enjoy teaching again. I won’t have to look at people’s heads anymore,'” Nashir said.

Skye Frost is starting her senior year at Lackawanna High School and is already worried about not having access to her phone during the school day. She said many people are upset.

Erika Rosado-Roman understands the intention, but worries that she will not be able to maintain contact with her three children, one of whom has a heart condition.

“The most important thing for my daughter is that she can wear her heart rate monitor. I use an Apple Watch for her. As long as she can wear it,” said Erika.

The superintendent said there will be some exceptions, including for health reasons.

She added that there are other ways for parents to reach their children during the day.

“Our parents have to trust us that we have emergency procedures in place. They can call the main office at any time. They can email their child or use the reminder app,” Nashir said.

Josiah Rosado-Roman, a junior in high school, said he needs his phone because he has a job and gets notifications about shifts on his phone.

“We all text in the WhatsApp group chat and in the WhatsApp group chat we get notifications and they cancel shifts and say who wants to work,” Josiah said.

He said that if he could not respond, he would miss out on the extra income. He attended the meeting to express his concern.

“I hope they leave here and think more about this rule,” Josiah said.

Frost said she understands that cell phones are not allowed in the classroom, but believes students should be allowed to look at their phones between classes.

“A lot of people want their phone. They don’t want their phone taken away from them,” Frost said.

This is a topic we’ve been discussing a lot lately as New York State Governor Kathy Hochul continues to consider a smartphone ban in New York City schools.

On July 24, Hochul held her fourth roundtable discussion at Kenmore Junior/Senior High School as she continues to consider drafting a possible bill that could ban all phones in classrooms across the state.

We have also spoken to other schools and districts that have already implemented a cell phone ban policy.