Gov. Kathy Hochul held a press briefing on Monday to discuss cell phone usage in schools.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Now I'd like to take a moment to talk about cell phones in our schools,
00:05which is what brought me to Gilderland High School here today.
00:08I just met with parents, educators, local leaders, advocates,
00:14to hear from them about the challenge of cell phones in schools
00:18and how they impact our children's education.
00:21And talking about is this actually the kind of environment we want
00:24to have for our children to continue to learn in.
00:28Two years ago, I started holding mental health listening sessions
00:31with teenagers to find out why the rates of suicide, depression,
00:35anxiety were so high for them.
00:38We came to the conclusion
00:40that addictive social media algorithms were affecting the mental health
00:45of children and teens in a significant way.
00:48In fact, the Surgeon General
00:49of the United States came to the same conclusion.
00:52Those listening sessions here in New York led us to take
00:56on the social media companies that create these addictive algorithms,
01:02and we did something very significant about it.
01:05Last month, I signed into law two bills that protect our children
01:09from these addictive feeds and protect them
01:12from having online entities collect personal identifying information
01:16about them and selling it to other entities.
01:19We knew those bills would face intense opposition from big tech
01:24and all the entrenched interests,
01:26but we developed our policies smart and pragmatically by making sure
01:32that the community was incorporated every step of the way.
01:36We involved teachers, educators, parents in those earlier conversations,
01:41which led us to the result that we're so proud of, nation leading.
01:44The result was clear.
01:45We overcame the intense lobbying, and it passed almost unanimously.
01:50That's what brings me here to today.
01:53That is our methodology.
01:54That's how we can kickstart the conversation
01:58with a similarly thoughtful plan around cell phones in our schools.
02:04I saw a statistic last month that I haven't been able to forget.
02:07That 72% of teachers across the nation report
02:11that cell phones are a major distraction for students in their classrooms.
02:16Same study found that 95% of 13 to 17-year-olds have access to smartphones,
02:23and they're receiving over 250 notifications per day on average.
02:29So a couple of observations.
02:33I am the first mom governor of New York.
02:37I'm hardwired to worry about our children and their safety, of course,
02:41but it's also impossible to ignore the reality
02:46that this generation more than others is being subjected to distractions
02:52that never existed the way they are now.
02:55There's a screen flashing in their face.
02:57They're experiencing FOMO.
02:58Are they missing out on something at this very moment?
03:02And what I heard from teachers who are trying so hard to just do what's right,
03:09but the principals, the superintendents also told me about what happens
03:13when students are there capturing everything that happens with their cell phone.
03:17It's instigating more fights, and they're setting up activities that they want
03:21to capture so they can become a social media star themselves.
03:25So it's feeding itself and a constant pull of attention away from their studies.
03:31I'm not blaming the kids.
03:33I'm not blaming the parents.
03:34I'm not blaming the administrators.
03:36It's hard enough for adults to pull themselves away from cell phones.
03:40I can't imagine how hard it is for these young people as well.
03:44But also, it's time to start figuring out solutions here.
03:47The status quo is not working for our children in particular.
03:52And I want to make sure we continue to incorporate community feedback.
03:55I want to hear from more parents and hear from more teachers.
03:58So we're going to focus on this.
04:00I'm going other places around the state.
04:02This is my first stop.
04:04Studying what other states are doing as well.
04:06So the same playbook we used to address teenage mental health,
04:10we're incorporating again to begin the process.
04:14I was joined by a number of our local elected officials,
04:17starting with Mayor Kathy Sheehan.
04:19She joined us.
04:20Assemblymember John McDonald.
04:23Pat Fahey joined us as well.
04:25And I want to thank them for being there to hear this conversation,
04:28as well as Melinda Person, who is the head of NICET for the state of New York.
04:32So we'll be doing much more.
04:34I'm excited about this.
04:36This is an opportunity for us to lead and also to demonstrate that at times
04:41when it's difficult to enact policy at the local levels
04:43because of intense pressure from many sources, New York State can also step
04:48up and provide the guidance that is necessary at this time.
04:52Any questions?
04:53Absolutely no disagreements.
05:07What we were also captivated with was the superintendent
05:09of Harry School District was laying out in detail, and I kept pressing him
05:14with questions because I was so intrigued at the fact
05:16that they have a full ban on any distractions in schools.
05:21No earbuds, no smartwatches, no smartphones, and no flip phones.
05:26They started this policy two years ago.
05:29They ran into a lot of opposition.
05:31Anxious parents who felt that they needed to be connected
05:34with their children throughout the day, but they brought in law enforcement
05:38and let the parents hear from law enforcement
05:40that if the parent's worst nightmare actually occurs,
05:44that there's an active shooter on site and their children are in harm's way,
05:48something that every parent since Columbine has had in the back
05:51of their mind when they send their children off to school,
05:54that actually children are less safe in that environment
05:58when they're distracted with a cell phone in an incident like that,
06:03as opposed to following the leaders of the adults
06:05who are trained to know what to do.
06:07So, they've had, he talked about how they overcome concerns from parents,
06:11but I was so fascinated in the outcomes.
06:14That's why it went longer.
06:15I'm guilty.
06:16I get a lot of questions, always do.
06:18But I said, well, what's the enforcement like?
06:21How is it going?
06:22He says, we've had a huge reduction in fights
06:25because students aren't engaging this activity.
06:28They're not fighting each other online and meeting up at the,
06:31you know, outside the school and fighting.
06:32He says, violence has gone down.
06:35Attention is up.
06:36Academic outcomes are up.
06:38And so, everybody wanted to know how this worked.
06:40He said over 30 school districts from around the country have come
06:44to see what they're doing.
06:45He had actually gone to a district in Massachusetts to find
06:49out how they were successful in this.
06:51And the conclusion was very much from everybody in the room
06:56that the state of New York needs to step up.
06:59On this or everything else I do?
07:09No, and we're ready for it.
07:10I mean, I sat there and I looked at those adults in the room
07:13and I said, it's this simple.
07:15What's best for our kids?
07:18Everything else is just noise.
07:20What's best for our children?
07:21And when I can hear from a superintendent to be able
07:25to explain that the outcomes are better two years later,
07:27they've had a full ban.
07:29And he said, there's so many other, I don't want to spend,
07:32I could spend another half hour with you telling you what he said
07:35because I was so intrigued with this.
07:37But NYSUT, Melinda Person announced that there's going
07:40to be a forum on September 20th gathering everyone
07:43to talk about distraction.
07:45But what they called it in Schoharie was a
07:46distraction-free school.
07:49Everything is out except for engagement with students,
07:52students interacting with each other,
07:54solving problems together, making eye contact.
07:57What a radical idea, they're looking at each other,
08:00talking during lunch and in study hall.
08:03So I was really excited to hear all this
08:05and so you can blame me for the delay.
08:07I have a lot of questions.
08:09Did they also have cell phones?
08:11Gunnar, do you want to have statewide guidance in place
08:14before the start of the school year or is this more
08:16on a rolling basis?
08:17Well, what I heard from superintendents, again,
08:19I'm going to Long Island, I'm going around the state,
08:21I need to hear from more people.
08:22I don't want to operate in a vacuum here.
08:24But if there's consensus that I feel coming out of a meeting
08:28like today and that's replicated elsewhere, I need to hear
08:30if there's something I'm missing, that's how I operate.
08:33I wanted to know if there's something I'm missing,
08:35but it seems to me that the district
08:38by district approach does not work.
08:42And I said, sometimes it's just easier to blame the governor
08:45and the state of New York when you want something done.
08:48I have taken that responsibility in a number of initiatives
08:52where sometimes it's just easier.
08:54And I said, I don't mind being the heavy
08:56because we're all fighting for our kids.
08:58So I don't anticipate a piecemeal approach will be
09:02my approach.
09:04I'll just put that out there.
09:05But I'm going to continue the conversations through the summer
09:08and certainly participate in the September 20th event.
09:10But there's, I do have a number of options.
09:13But again, having our state legislators come up to me
09:16afterward and says, we're in this with you,
09:18we'll do this, was a very positive sign.
09:21Governor, do you anticipate this being something
09:23that you're going to introduce to sort of, you know,
09:27like a program bill in the next legislative session?
09:32I'm going to reserve my options right now
09:34because certainly that's one of them.
09:37And I believe that would be a successful path forward.
09:41I'm also one of the most impatient people you'll ever meet.
09:43I want to do something.
09:44I want to do it now.
09:46So I'm going to weigh that with, yeah,
09:47I'm going to have conversations.
09:50You know, there's executive opportunities as well.
09:53So I just want to reserve all my options to do what's right.
09:56But, you know, this is going to be discussed
09:59over a matter of months, but not much longer.
10:02Sheila's answered what I was going to ask.
10:04OK, right.
10:05All right.
10:05I've got it.
10:06I'll pick it up.
10:06Sure.
10:10We just saw this assassination attempt with Donald Trump.
10:14Do you have any personal safety concerns?
10:18I mean, you're a prominent person
10:20who travels with security.
10:21I mean, does this raise any personal concerns for you?
10:25And how did you feel?
10:27Like, what went through your head
10:29when you heard about what happened on Saturday?
10:31I felt a pit in my stomach of disgust
10:35that this is the level of discourse in our country
10:39where people feel at liberty to, first of all,
10:43have in their possession a military-style assault
10:46weapon, which is a weapon of mass destruction, which
10:49we've seen the ill effects in my own state of Buffalo,
10:52or hometown of Buffalo.
10:53I reference this often.
10:55So I was also struck by what became later
10:58known as the weapon.
10:59Clearly, it was a high-powered, had high-power capacity
11:03coming off another building.
11:04But to a core, I'm a human being, too.
11:08And someone harms another, a high-profile individual
11:12who I just happened to disagree with on policy,
11:14this is still another person who stepped up to offer
11:18their vision for the country.
11:20I disagree with every element of that, as does President Biden,
11:24as do members of my party.
11:26But my God, I want to continue to be that beacon of democracy
11:31that actually functions and works,
11:33and not descend into those countries
11:36where this is the norm.
11:38You don't like a leader, you disagree with them,
11:40you take them out.
11:41You don't recognize elections.
11:43You don't even have elections.
11:44You eliminate your political opponents.
11:48That's not America, and will never be that country.
11:52That's why we are standing united
11:53to condemn this act of violence.
11:56And as far as my own safety, I have extreme confidence
12:00in the state police who do their jobs, as they always have been.
12:03But I'm not changing my activities one bit,
12:07because I will never let those cowards affect what I do
12:11as a governor of the state of New York.
12:12The Republican convention is this week.
12:15It's still going on as scheduled.
12:17Democratic convention, not for another month.
12:19Do you intend on attending?
12:21I presume you do.
12:22And do you, are you going to have a speaking role?
12:26Do you have any sort of sense of that at this point?
12:28No, I plan to be there.
12:29I'm looking forward to joining our delegation.
12:32I'm having regular communications with those
12:34who are delegates from New York.
12:36And everybody's excited and energized.
12:39Last time I was at a convention in Chicago, I was there
12:44as a staffer for Tom Fracano, who is running for member
12:49of Congress, which is the most Republican district
12:52in the state of New York, that I won many years later.
12:54So, it'll bring back some good memories.
12:56I look forward to being in Chicago.
12:58Okay.
12:59I was curious if you've spoken
13:01to President Biden's assassination attempt.
13:02What he said, and there's also an increasing security
13:06for any other candidates as they campaign
13:10in the next couple of months.
13:12And, you know, how have we gotten here?
13:13This kind of rhetoric you talk about a lot that's harmful.
13:16I'm just curious how you seem to have gotten to this moment.
13:21I have a lot of thoughts on that,
13:22and probably give a longer answer
13:23than any you want to have to record.
13:25But, I immediately went back in history in my mind.
13:30Buffalo, the site of the McKinley assassination.
13:34Remembering the circumstances around JFK, Bobby Kennedy,
13:39Dr. Martin Luther King, the shooting of George Wallace.
13:43I mean, all these happened when I was a very young person,
13:46but politically cognizant what was happening around me.
13:49And then, you know, the attack on Ronald Reagan when I was,
13:52you know, just getting to law school in Washington.
13:56And so, there have been incidences
13:58like this before, all have different motivations.
14:02Ronald Reagan was someone trying
14:03to get the attention of a movie star.
14:04I mean, so you can never draw a clear line
14:07between the motivation, you know.
14:09President McKinley was taken down by an anarchist
14:11at the Pan Am exhibition in Buffalo.
14:14So, there has not been a common theme throughout.
14:17But, what I've seen most recently,
14:20and not always the direct target is a political figure.
14:25But, the manifestation of political hate that is driven
14:28on dark social media platforms gives people this sense
14:33of empowerment that, oh, this is horrible.
14:36I'm going to take this into my own hands and do something.
14:39Again, we have no evidence of that in this case.
14:42But, I refer back to, you know, the Christ King Massacre
14:45in New Zealand, which was replicated online,
14:49the manifesto that was adopted by the person
14:52who committed the massacre on my neighbors in Buffalo.
14:55That same social media hatred, white supremacist groups,
14:59look at the rise in anti-Semitism that has just risen
15:03to levels that no one could have foreseen.
15:06So much of this is formatted on social media platforms.
15:10And, that's why when I see what's happening,
15:12the access of this information to our young people.
15:16The Buffalo shooter was 18 years old,
15:19had spent the last two years
15:21in a dark place during the pandemic.
15:24Becoming radicalized online.
15:26That's what our social media efforts here on the state
15:28of New York, why I tripled the size of our monitoring
15:31of social media here in our state.
15:34Because, that is the next breeding ground for these people
15:38who use violence to promote political agendas.
15:42And so, we've come a long way since 1901.
15:47But, the result is that this is a more dangerous time.
15:50Because, people feed on that and praise people
15:54and share doctrines and philosophies
15:56like they've never been able to before,
15:58before the advent of social media.
15:59That's why this time is even more dangerous.
16:02I didn't have a chance to speak to the President.
16:09No, not since then.
16:11We're working.
16:12My legal department is heavily involved in this too.
16:14I mean, by statute, it is the Attorney General.
16:17But, we have our ideas on what we want to see.
16:20So, we're working closely together.
16:21But, certainly, those conversations are ongoing.
16:23I'm sure you heard Biden's message last night
16:27from the Oval Office.
16:28You know, telling both sides to turn down the temperature.
16:32But, if I could ask you, you know,
16:34referencing some of your public statements this year.
16:37You said, you know, this November,
16:39this election will determine whether or not we're able
16:42to keep the republic.
16:43You said, don't estimate the rage of women in this country.
16:47They will march.
16:48They will take to the streets.
16:49There will be a rebellion against oppression.
16:53You said, you ought to be concerned that your freedom,
16:56you ought to be concerned about your freedom
16:57because it could be a vestige of the past.
17:01Do you see yourself playing a role here
17:05in also adjusting your own language and maybe taking
17:08down the temperature yourself?
17:11I would say many of those comments were directed
17:14at policies.
17:15None of them said to take up arms
17:18and harm another human being.
17:19None of them said, go after a candidate.
17:21None of them said, go after a president or former president.
17:25So, there is a vast difference
17:27between espousing my deeply held views
17:29about what I see could happen for the future of our country
17:32and the concern that I still hold today
17:35about where we're heading as a nation.
17:38And, saying that, you know, take to the streets and march.
17:42That's what you should be doing.
17:43That's where you express your political views.
17:46You talk about that.
17:47But, you don't do something like call for an insurrection.
17:49And, you don't call for an attack on a place
17:51like the United States Capitol.
17:53You don't.
17:54There is a line that you never, ever cross.
17:56And, I'll continue to call out those who cross that line.
17:59And, just to follow up, the governor of Virginia announced
18:01that he's going to put the flags at half-staff
18:03for that volunteer firefighter that was killed, Corey.
18:07Would you consider putting the flags at half-staff
18:10in New York for this volunteer firefighter?
18:13That's absolutely something I would consider.
18:14Let me look at our state policy
18:16and whether that would be an appropriate use
18:18of our state policy.
18:19But, it's certainly something I'll look at today.
18:21Last one and then we've got to go.
18:23Laura Tegley, 90 News 10.
18:25The gunman on Saturday fired from a location
18:26that was patrolled by local and state officers.
18:28Are you confident enough in New York State local officers
18:31and state officers to say that something similar will not happen
18:34at an event similarly high-profile here?
18:37I will say that the Secret Service, who we've dealt
18:39with many times, as we had frequent visits
18:42from President Biden and Vice President Harris,
18:45they are responsible for securing the entire site.
18:49If they, it's up to them on whether or not they're going
18:51to delegate that responsibility to local law enforcement.
18:55So, I just want to tell you where the line of demarcation is.
18:59Secret Service made the decision to have locals as opposed
19:03to their own members of Secret Service,
19:05their own sharpshooters on that roof.
19:07So, if the Secret Service asks our teams to step up
19:12and perform a role like that, I have extreme confidence
19:15in their ability to do it, but the decision
19:17on whether or not someone's there
19:18in the first place is up to the Secret Service.
19:21We have to defer to them on these matters
19:24because we cannot be interfering
19:25with their primary responsibility,
19:28which is to protect elected officials and candidates.
19:31So, my team has extreme experience.
19:34We'll do as directed by the Secret Service,
19:37but that's the protocol
19:38when you have a high-profile visitor like that.
19:40You get it.
19:42Oh, if they delegate to us, oh yeah, absolutely.
19:47Ours are the best.
19:49All right, thank you.