Schools are banning students from using cell phones. But where will they put them?

Correction: Friday 8-22-25 — A correction was made to the policy in the West Genesee school district: Elementary Schools (UPK-4): Students are discouraged from bringing devices to school. If a device is brought to school, it must be silenced and kept in the school office.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — School districts across New York have adopted bans on student cell phone use in compliance with the new state law.

The law, pushed by Gov. Hochul in an effort to make schools “distraction-free,” has a firm rule: “No unsanctioned use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices on school grounds in K-12 schools for the entire school day.”

For the most part, each school’s general policies are the same, offering exceptions for emergencies, medical needs, translation services, and educational devices provided by the school.

But rules vary from school to school over where to put the phones. In their locker? In their backpack? In a specially-designed pouch students wear throughout the day?

The Governor’s Office created a database providing a link to each school district’s policy. Some schools haven’t finalized their plans yet. Some schools have announced their plans but haven’t updated their rules yet (the deadline was Aug. 1). Some links don’t even work.

Despite the new rules saying that backpacks are not allowed as a storage option, nor are lockers if they are unsupervised, many schools’ rules seem to not yet conform to the law. By Sept. 1 of next year, schools must compile a report on the implementation and efficacy of their policy.

Also, the rules clarify that students who break the ban can be disciplined but not suspended.

Find your local school district below to see where your school stands on the rule.

Cayuga County

Auburn City School District: Students in junior high and high school will keep their phones in their lockers. Elementary students will put their phones in designated bins. Read the policy here.

Cato-Meridian Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or put them in a bin in a classroom or a designated area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES: Students put their phones in a designated area in a classroom or the main office. Read the policy here.

Moravia Central School District: Students up to sixth grade will keep their phones in cubbies. Students in seventh grade and above will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Port Byron Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or put them in a bin in a classroom or a designated area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Southern Cayuga Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Union Springs Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones, but if they do, they will put them in a storage container in their classroom, their personal cubbies, or the main office. Students in middle school and high school will put their phones in their lockers or in “designated centralized device holders.” Read the policy here.

Weedsport Central School District: Elementary students will keep their phones in their backpacks, lockers, or cubby. Students in junior and senior high school will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Cortland County

Cincinnatus Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones, but if they do, they will put them in their personal cubbies. Middle and high school students will keep theirs in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Cortland City School District: Students will keep their phones in a designated storage container or a space in an office, or in the case of junior and senior high schools, special classroom caddies. Schools also have the option of providing wearable pouches. Read the policy here.

Homer Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers, a designated storage container, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Marathon Central School District: Students in junior and senior high school will store their phones in their lockers. Elementary students’ phones will be kept in a secure location designated by the principal. Read the policy here.

McGraw Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or another personal storage option approved by the school. Read the policy here.

Truxton Academy Charter School: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Madison County

Brookfield Central School District: Students must keep their phones in a security locker at the main office. Read the policy here.

Canastota Central School District: Students from kindergarten to fourth grade must store their phones in their classroom cubbies. Fifth and sixth-graders will keep their phones in a locker in their homeroom. Seventh graders and up will keep their phones in their personal lockers. Read the policy here.

Cazenovia Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers, a designated storage bin in their classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Chittenango Central School District: Students will keep their phones in either a school-issued pouch or a personal locker. Read the policy here.

DeRuyter Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Hamilton Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones to school, but if they do, they will be put in a classroom storage locker. Middle- and high-schoolers must store their phones in a lockable case that the school provides. Read the policy here.

Madison Central School District: Kids from kindergarten through fifth grade, if their parents determine that they must bring a phone, must store their phone away from them during the school day: they can put it in their backpack, locker, pouch, or a special area in the classroom, but they cannot keep it in their pocket. Kids in sixth grade and up must keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Morrisville-Eaton Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Oneida City School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or cubbies. Read the policy here.

Stockbridge Valley Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Oneida County

Adirondack Central School District: Elementary students will put their phones in cubbies. Middle-schoolers will put their phones in storage cases or lockers. High-schoolers will use lockers with a school-provided padlock. Read the policy here.

Camden Central School District: Students can keep their phones in their lockers, cubbies, or backpacks. Read the policy here.

Clinton Central School District: Elementary students can not bring their phones to school at all. Middle- and high-schoolers must keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Holland Patent Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Madison-Oneida BOCES: Students will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

New Hartford Central School District: Elementary students can not bring their phones to school at all. Middle- and high-schoolers must keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

New York Mills Union Free School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES: The District Superintendent, currently Patricia Kilburn, will decide where students will store their phones. Read the policy here.

Remsen Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Rome City School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones to school, but if they do, they will be put in a classroom storage locker. Students in seventh grade and up will keep their phones in a lockbox in their ninth-period class. Read the policy here.

Sauquoit Valley Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Utica City School District: Students will keep their phones in a cabinet or something similar. Read the policy here.

Vernon Verona Sherrill School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Waterville Central School District: Students from pre-K to fifth grade must keep their phones in their lockers. For students in sixth grade and up, the school has ordered special pouches, but before the pouches arrive, students must keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Westmoreland Central School District: The district has not adopted a uniform policy across its schools, but students’ options include keeping phones in lockers, pouches provided by the district, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Whitesboro Central School District: Students must keep their phones in their lockers or their “personalized storage.” Read the policy here.

Onondaga County

Baldwinsville Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing their phones to school, but if they do, they must keep them in their cubby. Students in sixth grade and up must keep theirs in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Citizen & Science Academy of Syracuse: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones to school, but if they do, they will keep theirs in their backpacks. Middle-and high-schoolers will keep their phones in designated lockers. Read the policy here.

East Syracuse Minoa Central School District: Students must keep their phones in a Velcro pouch. Read the policy here.

Fabius-Pompey Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones to school, but if they do, they will keep theirs in their backpacks. Middle-and high-schoolers will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District: Students from pre-K through fourth grade are encouraged to leave their phones at home, but if they do bring them they must keep it in their cubbies. Students in fifth grade and up will receive a non-locking Velcro pouch that can block wireless signals. Read the policy here.

Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or put them in a bin in a classroom or a designated area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Jordan-Elbridge Central School District: Students’ options include keeping phones in lockers, designated bins in classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

LaFayette Central School District: Students up to fourth grade can not bring their phones to school. Students from fifth grade and up must keep their phones in their cubbies or lockers. Read the policy here.

Liverpool Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing their phones to school, but if they do, they must keep them in their lockers, cubby, or backpack. High school students must keep their phones in locked pouches. Middle-schoolers must keep their phones in their lockers, but the school anticipates phasing in pouches for the 2026-27 school year. Read the policy here.

Lyncourt Union Free School District: Students from pre-K through fourth grade must keep their phones in their backpacks. Students from fifth grade through eighth grade (LUFSD does not have a high school) must keep their phones in a school-issued cell phone bag. Read the policy here.

Marcellus Central School District: Elementary and intermediate students are discouraged from bringing their phones to school, but if they do, they must keep them in their lockers or cubbies. Students in junior and senior high school must keep their phones in locked pouches. Read the policy here.

North Syracuse Central School District: Students from pre-K through seventh grade will keep their phones in lockers or cubbies. Students in eighth grade and up will have district-issued pouches. Read the policy here.

Onondaga Central School District: Elementary students can not bring their phones to school at all. Students in junior and senior high school must keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES: Students must keep their phones in their lockers, designated bins in classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

OnTech Charter High School: Students will turn in their phones to marked compartments in their homerooms. Read the policy here.

Skaneateles Central School District: Students’ options include keeping phones in lockers, designated bins in classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Solvay Union Free School District: Students’ options include keeping phones in lockers, designated bins in classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Southside Academy Charter School: The school has not yet published an exact policy for where students will store their phones. Read the policy here.

Syracuse Academy of Science: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones to school, but if they do, they will keep theirs in their backpacks. Middle- and high-schoolers will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Syracuse City School District: The district plans to use pouches, though they have not publicly posted their official storage policy yet. Read the cell phone policy here.

Tully Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or put them in a bin in a classroom or a designated area in the main office. Read the policy here.

West Genesee Central School District: Elementary Schools (UPK-4): Students are discouraged from bringing devices to school. If a device is brought to school, it must be silenced and kept in the school office. Intermediate, middle-, and high-schoolers will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Westhill Central School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing phones to school, but if they do, they will keep theirs in their cubbies or lockers. Middle- and high-schoolers will keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Oswego County

Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Central Square Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Fulton City School District: Students must keep their phones in their lockers or cubbies, though students up to third grade must also keep their phones in their backpacks (which must be kept in their cubbies). Read the policy here.

Hannibal Central School District: Students must keep their phones in their lockers or in the main office. Read the policy here.

Mexico Central School District: Students’ options include keeping phones in lockers, designated bins in classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Oswego BOCES: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or put them in a bin in a classroom. Read the policy here.

Oswego City School District: Students up to sixth grade must keep their phones in their backpacks, which must be kept in their cubbies or lockers. Seventh- and eighth-graders must keep their phones in a locker in their homerooms. Students in ninth grade and up must keep their phones in their backpacks, purses, or bags, which must be kept in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Phoenix Central School District: Middle- and high-schoolers must keep their phones in locked cases in their classrooms. Elementary students must keep theirs in their backpacks or cubbies. Read the policy here.

Pulaski Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or otherwise a designated area. Read the policy here.

Sandy Creek Central School District: The district has not publicly posted its updated cell phone policy yet.

Tompkins County

Dryden Central School District: Elementary students must keep their phones in a locker. Middle- and high-schoolers may need to use a pouch system, but that will depend on whether the district receives enough funding for the plan. Read the policy here.

George Junior Republic Union Free School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers or put them in a bin in a classroom or a designated area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Groton Central School District: Students will keep their phones in their lockers, school-issued pouches a designated area in the main office. Read the policy here.

Ithaca City School District: Elementary students are discouraged from bringing their phones to school, but if they do, they must keep them in their backpacks. Students in sixth grade and up must keep theirs in a signal-blocking pouch, along with their school-issued Chromebook. Read the policy here.

Lansing Central School District: Elementary students can not bring their phones to school at all. Middle- and high-schoolers must keep their phones in their lockers. Read the policy here.

Newfield Central School District: While the district has not adopted a uniform policy in response to the new law, it has already banned student cell phone use since 2023.

New Roots Charter School: Middle-schoolers must keep their phones in caddies in their homerooms. High-schoolers must keep theirs in “designated centralized device holders.” Read the policy here.

Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES: Students will keep their phones in their lockers, school-issued pouches a designated area in the main office.

Trumansburg Central School District: Students’ options include keeping phones in lockers, designated storage bins in classrooms, or a special area in the main office. Read the policy here.

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