NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A group of parents has challenged a New York City rule requiring public school students to surrender cell phones at the school door.
At a hearing this week before a five-judge appellate panel, a lawyer representing the parents said that students should be able to carry cell phones in school for use in emergencies, the New York Sun reported.
Norman Siegel said that the city Department of Education goal appeared to be making the jobs of police officers guarding the schools easier, not improving the classroom environment.
Alan Krams, representing the city, said that at least 2,000 incidents of classes being disrupted by students using cell phones were recorded before the ban took effect. The Department of Education adopted the rule in 2006.
