Looming NYC school phone ban could force kids to store phones in $30 pouches paid for by taxpayers: report

A long-promised cellphone ban for New York City public schools could see students stashing their devices in $30 pouches bought by cash-strapped schools.

Students would be banned from using phones in schools starting in February, under the outlines of a plan first reported by Chalkbeat.

The ban would require school leaders to ring up their own policies to keep distracting phones out of students’ hands, either by collecting devices when the day begins or requiring students to carry phones in cloth cases called Yondr pouches that are magnetically locked until dismissal, according to the report.

Teachers, principals and a parent stressed that Department of Education officials have yet to provide guidance, but told The Post the rumored details raise questions of cost, practicality and whether it could help keep embarrassing incidents out of sight.

“They seem desperate to keep kids from filming things at school,” a parent leader said.

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Videos taken by students at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica revealed kids running amok in November against a teacher who had attended a pro-Israel rally.

An education department spokesperson repeatedly declined to confirm details in the Chalkbeat report, only noting that “no decisions have been made at this time.”

Chancellor David Banks has promised that a citywide ban on cellphones is in the works as a move to avoid distractions and other problems in schools.

Yondr bills itself as a company that “creates phone-free spaces” through its pouches, which magnetically lock devices inside.

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The company’s website boasts plaudits from entertainers such as Dave Chappelle and Jack White, who praised the pouches for keeping audiences engaged with comedy shows and concerts rather than buried in phones.

A citywide ban on phones in schools could mean the company will make a killing.

Policies on phones are current set school-by-school, with many already requiring students to stuff their devices into Yondr pouches.

“We started using the Yondr pouches this year,” a Brooklyn principal told The Post.

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The principal said it cost $30 a pouch and he had to pay for 50 of them out of his school’s budget.

The citywide ban plans first reported by Chalkbeat didn’t include extra money for schools to buy pouches.

Another principal said they wanted more guidance before they start collecting thousands of dollars worth of cellphones every day.

Donalda Chumney, ex-superintendent of Manhattan’s District 2 and now parent member of District 15 in Brooklyn, told The Post that any ban should allow kids to carry their phones to school.

Expecting 11-year olds to walk home in the dark after school with no phone simply doesn’t work as a safety decision in this day and age, she said.

“When I was a príncipal, kids brought phones to school and we collected them at the beginning of the day and gave them back at the end of the day,” she said. “Stored the phones in the main office. It was seamless.”

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