NYC Schools Reverse Course on Cell-Phone Ban After Parents Balk

New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said “now is not the time” to ban cell phones in schools, citing concerns from parents who struggled to reach their children during a lockdown at two Upper West Side schools last month.

Banks’ remarks signal a reversal on a widely supported proposal to restrict phone use for more than 1.1 million public school students across 1,800 campuses in the US’s largest school system.