Should the School Cell Phone Ban Be Lifted?

Parents across the city are starting to ask a question as summer break continues in New York: why can't my child bring their cell phone into a public school?

The New York Times wrote this week that a vast majority of City Council members have signed a letter urging Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott to lift the long time ban on phones in schools. 

As cell phones have evolved into smart phones, PDA's, and other devices that are intimately intwined with our lives, it's certainly a question worth considering. What was once a device just for connecting with friends and loved ones has become a tiny electronic repository for every thought, appointment and crucial piece of information. 

Some council members have also argued that the ban is discriminatory, because it is reportedly more stringently enforced at schools with metal detectors and in low-income neighborhoods.

Should students be without their dearly-held technology throughout the school day? Is it a distraction from the learning process? Or is it a violation of a student's basic right to connect with their friends and families?