PA Senate passes bill that would require students to lock away cellphones during school

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Last week, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill that would allow for a pilot program that requires students to put their phones in a locked bag during school hours.

The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Ryan Aument who serves Lancaster County (R-36), is a father of two. He said limiting how much time young people spend on their phones will help with mental health and school culture.

"I think this is a critical step in breaking the addiction for many of our young people This is an addiction, and so if we can get them off the device for six and a half hours during the school day, I do think that's going to be beneficial at home," Aument said.

The bill passed the Pennsylvania Senate 45 to 5.

"Overwhelmingly bipartisan, to have 45 votes on an education initiative in the senate is quite frankly rather rare," Aument said.

According to a news release, the bill would award grants to participating schools to buy secure, lockable smartphone bags so that students would put away their phones until the end of the school day. The bill would also require the schools participating to track metrics like academic performance, mental health and instances of bullying to study the impact of the school being smartphone-free.

Aument hopes to have this smartphone ban in place for this coming school year. It would only apply to those districts selected for the pilot.

The bill will now head to the Pennsylvania State House.