HARRISBURG, Pa. —
The Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would ban students from using their phones during the school day.
The bipartisan bill passed 47-3, after passing in the House last week 141-62.
The bell-to-bell mobile device policy puts into law that schools must make a policy disallowing phone use during the school day by the 2027-28 school year. Exceptions are carved out in the bill for several groups of students
Those exceptions would be made for:
Students or immediate family members who have a medical condition that requires use of a phone Students with an individualized education program and a phone is part of the accommodations Students who use phones for translation purposes Principals who make special exceptions Officials React
Governor Shapiro, who has previously championed the bill, said in a post to X, ” I called for this in my Budget Address and repeatedly urged the legislature to act — and now, we’ve brought Democrats and Republicans together to get this done for our students and our educators. It’s time to get back to the basics in school and let our kids be kids.”
Sen. Devlin Robinson (R-37), who represents Western Allegheny County and was the Prime Sponsor of the bill, said in a post to his Facebook, “Thanks to Sen. Vincent Hughes, Sen. Steve Santarsiero, the PA State Education Association, PA Unplugged, and all the other advocates and stakeholders who helped get this across the finish line – your hard work will make a difference in students’ lives across the commonwealth.”
The bill now heads to Shapiro’s desk, who has previously said he would sign it when it came to his desk