Pennsylvania Senate passes bill limiting smartphone use in schools

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The Pennsylvania State Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would limit the use of smartphones in schools.

According to Sen. Ryan Aument’s office, Senate Bill 1207 (which he sponsors) would establish the Cellphone Lockable Bag Pilot Program to award grants to participating schools to purchase lockable smartphone bags.

The idea is that students would deposit their phones into the lockable bags until the end of the school day.

S.B. 1207 would also require participating schools to track certain metrics such as academic performance, mental health, and instances of bullying and other behavioral issues.

This will allow there to be studies on the impact of smartphone-free schools on students.

“Kids spend so much time on social media and using their smartphones, that it’s taking a toll on them mentally, emotionally and academically. Smartphone restrictions have proved successful in reversing these trends,” Sen. Aument said. “Students deserve to learn without a constant distraction in their pockets and my legislation would give them that.”

Sen. Aument’s office says that since the early 2010s, there has been a decline in mental health for children and their academic performance is suffering. He says that this decline directly correlates to the rise of smartphones and social media apps.

“Last year alone, the commonwealth provided $100 million in new funding to schools to care for their students’ mental health. While we continue to provide resources to help students in need of mental health services, we must also target one of the root causes of our children’s mental distress — widespread access to smartphones and social media apps,” Aument added.

Included in S.B. 1207 are exceptions for students who have documented medical conditions that require the use of a smartphone, such as diabetes.

The bill now moves to the PA House of Representatives for consideration.

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