Starting with the 2025-2026 school year, New York state's Distraction-Free Schools Law prohibits unsanctioned use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices on K-12 school grounds "from bell to bell."
Eye contact, once a cornerstone of human connection, is becoming increasingly rare in our screen-dominated lives. The beeps, alerts, and endless digital distractions have shifted our gaze away from the eyes of others and into the glow of our devices.