Parents and members of the United Federation of Teachers rallied Monday in an effort to get education officials to lift the ban on cell phones in school.

Although the parents and UFT agree cell phones should not be used in school, they say kids still need to be able to carry them for safety reasons. Parents say since many kids travel long distances to get to and from school, they need to carry their cell phones for protection. They say it will also give them peace of mind.

The Department of Education, however, says cell phones distract kids from learning and also create discipline problems. Both parents and the UFT hope that some middle ground can be reached with the DOE on the matter.