Poll: New Yorkers back de Blasio’s cell phone policy change

While some educators remain worried that texts, tweets and selfies could be classroom distractions, the majority of New York voters in a Quinnipiac poll released today approved of the decision allowing students to bring cell phones to schools.

Fifty-four percent of New York voters polled said they approved of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to allow students to carry cell phones to school. That trend cut across racial groups and for both men and women polled, with only Republicans broadly opposing the ban’s lift. Fifty-one percent of Republicans said they did not think students should be allowed to bring their phones to school.

De Blasio announced a change to its policy on cell phones on Jan. 7. Cell phones can no longer be banned starting March 2, but individual schools will develop their own policies on whether they can be used in class and how they are to be stored during the school day.

The poll also showed Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s approval holding steady at 39 percent.