Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – The Pennsylvania Senate approved a bill on Wednesday to encourage school districts to launch a pilot program that effectively prohibits children from using cell phones during the school day to improve their mental health and academic performance.
The bill, which passed 45-5, would provide funding to school districts to purchase locking bags once the district establishes a policy mandating students to leave their phones in such bags throughout the school day. It now moves to the state House for consideration.
The bill’s proponent, Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster, expects that limiting phone use will enhance students’ mental health and academic performance.
“Kids spend so much time on social media and their smartphones that it hurts their mental, emotional, and academic well-being. “Smartphone restrictions have proven effective in reversing these trends,” Aument stated.
According to the measure, the policy must provide exclusions for students who have a proven medical condition that requires them to use a smartphone. Participating school districts must track changes in student mental health, bullying, violence, and academic achievement over two years.
Grants would be provided by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and additional legislation would be required to establish grant levels and allocate funds for this purpose.
Most schools already have policies in place to regulate student phone use. However, an increasing number of state politicians have come to support school cellphone bans, and similar legislation is brewing in other jurisdictions.
Last year, Florida became the first state to enact legislation requiring public schools to prohibit student cellphone use during class time and prevent access to social media on district Wi-Fi networks. Some districts went even further, prohibiting phones during the whole school day 6abc stated.
California enables school districts to limit or prohibit students’ use of smartphones at school, and the Los Angeles Unified School District board decided last month to establish such a policy.
The Pennsylvania bill’s passing in the state Senate comes two weeks after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy urged Congress to put warning labels on social media platforms and their effects on youth.