New York State’s Public School Cell Phone Ban and the “Big Beautiful Bill’s” dismantling of the Individual’s with Disabilities Act (IDEA) protections for students with disabilities took center stage with John Mannion, United States Representative for New York’s 22nd District at the ‘Back to School Forum’ at James H. Donovan Middle School in Utica on August 25, co-hosted by the Public Education Alliance.
From left, U.S. Congressman, John Mannion and Utica Board of Education Members Tennille Knoop and James Paul at a Back to School Forum in Utica on August 25.
Heather Concepcion, President of the Thomas R. Proctor High School Student Council in Utica, gave a gracious introduction of Mannion, balanced with a bit of humor when she quipped that no one warned her that one of her duties would be speaking at an event before the first day of school.
Mannion was joined on stage by Tennille Knoop and James Paul, members of the Utica City School District Board of Education, to discuss the issues currently impacting Utica and other school districts in the district, which include the city school districts in Syracuse, Cortland, and Oneida. The panel also took questions from a gathering of about three dozen teachers, students, parents, school administrators, and school board members.
The congressman hails from Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, earned his Bachelor’s Degree from University of Binghamton and his Master’s Degree from SUNY Oswego, and went on to teach high school science in Central New York for almost 30 years, including at West Genesee High School in Syracuse, where he also served as the building’s Teacher’s Association President for eight years.
New York State Public School Cell Phone Ban
Mannion almost got through the night without fielding a question from the gathering about the cell phone ban, till Proctor senior, Jason Carrion was granted the ‘last question of the night’ and pressed Mannion on the issue of students and parents being prevented by the ban from communicating in case of an emergency.
Utica City School District Superintendent Christopher Spence reminded the students that it was the law of the State of New York – not the city of Utica or it’s school district – but that they were obliged to follow that law.
Mannion shared he has taught in schools with cell phones and without them and prefers the ones without them. That said, he confirmed with the district administrators that there were outside phone lines in every classroom, as well as other locations throughout the school, and that no student would be prevented from placing a call, nor would a parent have any problem contacting the school to connect with their child, in case of an emergency.
Concepcion queried about students who use apps on their cell phones to monitor medical statuses such as blood sugar for diabetics. Mannion confirmed that there are exceptions to the law, precisely such as that, that allow those students to carry their phones.
Mannion’s positions
Mannion, who in a public statement referred to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a “tax scam” and a “job killer,” informed that current administration plans to reorganize special education under the department of Health and Human Services and fund programs via a more general state block grant, which he warned would “eliminate IDEA Law protections.”
He said the current administration had already withheld $7 billion of funding appropriated to support the vulnerable cohort of students nationwide, $400 million of which was earmarked for students in New York State. He also pointed out the bill proposed cuts to funding for mental health support in public schools.
Manion also highlighted changes to Pell Grants and student loan programs he said were certain to make attending college more difficult for poor, working and middle-class students.
To clarify for anyone in the crowd confused about how the current Congress could withhold or redesignate funds already appropriated by the vote of the prior Congress, Mannion warned that “recision is on the horizon,” referring to the Recission Bill passed by the GOP representatives in the House and Senate that subsequently empowers them to break funding promises made by the prior Congress.
Mannion characterized the treatment of designated educational funding as “a broken promise” that has created nothing but “chaos.”
Utica City School District Board of Education Members on the panel
Utica Board of Education Member, Tenille Knoop, addressed attacks on public education funding by proposing that, “if you want a strong country, you educate your people.”
James Paul, serving his first term on the Utica Board of Education, infused a genuine optimism in his focus on accomplishments, proclaiming, “We are a great district!”
Questions, answers
In a lighter yet on-topic moment when Mannion was struggling to be heard speaking into a faulty microphone, a teacher in the crowd, using her own, called out to him, “Just use your teacher voice!” To a blend of laughter and applause, the former long-time teacher ‘dropped the mic’ and that was last anyone saw of it.
During Q&A from the gathering, the panel was asked to be more specific about accomplishments they had actually made.
Knoop noted the creation of a “system of care” by partnering with ICAN and the Safe Schools program in Utica.
Paul touted the district’s partnership with the “Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection which, according to the program website, is “dedicated to reversing the trend of low graduation rates and helping students realize their potential in the classroom, in the community, and in life” by providing academic support, job readiness training, and youth and family development.
Said Paul of the program, “bringing this into the district has been a win for us.”
Mannion and the panel heard from a parent of a Special Education student in the district who testified in tears of her family’s struggle to partner with the district to put in the place the support that is needed. He empathized with her helplessness and reminded her of the power as a parent that she will always have in the process.
A school librarian expressed her fear of being rendered powerless to support her student’s First Amendment rights by the threat of book-banning. She celebrated her role in providing diverse books in which students can “read about themselves.”
“If there’s a book that’s on the ban list,” responded Knoop, “I’m reading it!”
Knoop went on to assure that, from what she knows of her colleagues on the Board of Education, they fall on the side of those first amendment rights.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Mannion addresses issues in Education in Utica forum