The first day of classes for 900,000 New York City students on Thursday means a statewide ban on cell phones in schools is officially in effect.

Gov. Hochul signed the law last spring prohibiting the devices from the morning until the final bell , with limited exceptions. The new policy is part of a larger effort to promote better attention in the classroom and more socializing in the cafeteria and hallways .

“We’re doing this because we want to make sure that you can keep learning and in a distraction-free environment,” Hochul told students at Middle School 582, The Magnet School for Multimedia, Technology and Urban Planning, in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “We’re doing it all over the state, and you’re among the very first.”

In New York City, about half of public schools banned

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