Court upholds school cell phone ban

BY PETE DAVIS

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 8:27 PM EDT

You will not see students bringing cell phones into city schools anytime soon, unless they do so without permission, according to an appellate court ruling.

The court, which ruled unanimously in favor of the city, said that the school cell phone ban does not violate parent or students’ rights and is a reasonable measure to maintain order in school.

“We believe that the court correctly concluded that the objections to the cell phone policy raised issues for the [School] Chancellor’s consideration, rather than for the courts,” said Michael Cardozo, Corporation Counsel for the city’s Law Department.

However, plaintiffs, including Queens mother Ellen Weisman, disagreed with the court’s ruling.

“I think it’s an awful decision,” said Weisman, who was one of the parent plaintiffs in the case. “I think it’s going to lead to people breaking the rules all the time. We didn’t ask that the phones should be used in school; we just want the kids to be able to carry them.”

Although the cell phone ban has actually been in effect since 1988, the issue began gaining greater attention during the 2005-2006 school year, when schools began conducting random metal searches before students entered the building hoping to prevent weapons from being brought to school.

If school officials found a student with a cell phone on school grounds, the official could confiscate the phone and hold it for a week before a parent could come in and pick up the phone.

Plaintiffs now must decide if they want to bring the case to the New York State Court of Appeals.