Governor Hochul on "The Kelly Clarkson Show"

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” The Governor spoke with Kelly Clarkson about the distraction-free schools policy she championed in the FY 2026 Executive Budget. The statewide bell-to-bell cellphone ban is set to take effect this fall for the 2025-26 academic year, making New York the largest state in the nation to ban smartphones in K-12 public schools — additional details can be found here.

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Kelly Clarkson: We are at the end of the hour, but before we say goodbye, we have one more important story — this is, “ What I'm Liking.” As the parent of two elementary kiddos, one of my toughest issues is screen time. I know I'm not alone — just about every family struggles with this problem. It's hard to know the balance and each family is different, but I think one place where we all agree that kids need to put their phones down is school. It’s funny you even have to say that, but apparently we do.

Fortunately, a lot of states, though, are stepping up and Florida's cell phone use is now restricted during instructional time. This year, Utah actually passed a similar law and many other states are exploring their own legislation. Here in New York — where my kids go to school — Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed one of the toughest cell phone bans in the country. She joins us, dialed in from New York City. Please welcome Governor Hochul. Welcome to the show.

Governor Hochul: Hi Kelly, how are you?

Kelly Clarkson: Oh, thank you so much for joining us. You actually say this legislation came from the students, right?

Governor Hochul: Well, what I did as Governor, I traveled the state for about a year because I also knew, as New York's first Mom Governor, that kids should not be on their cell phones during the classroom hours. So I went around — I convened students, high school kids, younger kids, parents, superintendents of schools, principals — and I started having conversations about what it's like in the classroom, what it's like in the cafeteria, and you know what I heard, Kelly? Is that there's silence — the kids aren't even talking to each other anymore.

They're not developing interpersonal skills, they're not making friends in person. They're so addicted to just staring at their hand all day during a time when they should still be children.

Kelly Clarkson: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: The kids should be able to come to school — a distraction-free environment, which is what we are guaranteeing in New York now as a result of this law— and this is a tough law. I'm not just talking about during instruction time — you cannot have your cell phone from bell-to-bell the second that school day starts until it ends, and we're the largest state in the nation to go that far, because I heard from kids that they're making friends again — the ones who have this ban in place already, and a few school districts do, they're totally changed.

There's less pressure on them, they're more liberated and teachers can finally teach again — 74 percent of teachers across our country were surveyed. They said, “We're tired of competing. The kids aren't even paying attention to us. They're watching TikTok dance videos and not listening to their instructions.”

So there's a thousand reasons why this is a good idea. I sincerely hope that every other state will adopt this because this is for our children's mental health, your little ones, but also as they grow into teenagers and a lot of distractions, a lot of pressures. But, let's help them get through this tough time in their lives and just let them be kids again.

Kelly Clarkson: Oh, absolutely. So what does the legislation do?

Governor Hochul: Every school can set up their own system, they can have their own discipline, but we don't want children suspended if they're in violation of this policy. We want our kids in school, we want them learning —

Kelly Clarkson: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: — but I'll leave that up to the districts. But basically, from bell-to-bell, every second of that day, they'll have their hands away from that device: smart watches, earbuds, cell phones — it's all over starting in the fall. So parents, start having phone-free times at home so your kids are not having shock or withdrawal pains when they get to school. But I will tell you, you will not recognize your children — after a few months, they'll be more alive, they'll be more engaged, they'll feel like kids again —

Kelly Clarkson: More creative.

Governor Hochul: — and we owe that to them. So that's what a Mom Governor does, and I'm really proud. It was tough to get done; a lot of opposition to this. For every state to do this, we have to start thinking of our children first.

Kelly Clarkson: Absolutely. I can't even believe there's opposition, seems like a no-brainer, but that's from a kid who obviously — we didn't have cell phones in school, so. But it seems like a no-brainer to do. It is really important. Thank you so much, Governor Hochul. I'm liking your post right now.