A $252 billion New York budget plan by Gov. Kathy Hochul would ban student cell phones during school and hike school aid by at least 2% per district.

A cell phone ban in New York State schools is one step closer to reality. “I’m surprised that it’s bell to bell,” said Mark Laurrie, Supt of Niagara Falls City Schools on WBEN. “I thought it would be more up to districts.

Hochul wants to allocate $13.5 million in New York’s state budget to curb the use of cellphones in public schools, the governor’s office said.