{"id":106256,"date":"2026-02-05T19:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/106256\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T19:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:48:07","slug":"pennsylvania-could-soon-ban-students-from-using-cellphones-during-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/106256\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania could soon ban students from using cellphones during school"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was originally published by The Pennsylvania Capital-Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Legislation that would mandate a universal bell-to-bell cellphone ban in public and private schools across Pennsylvania now heads to the House after getting the nod from senators.<\/p>\n

A bipartisan group of senators petitioned their colleagues Wednesday to move the proposal, noting that Gov. Josh Shapiro has already endorsed the idea. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are spending nearly $12 billion here in Pennsylvania on K-12 education this year alone, but we\u2019ll be flushing it down the drain if we can\u2019t recapture our students\u2019 attention,\u201d said sponsor Sen. Devlin Robinson. \u201cOur schools are for learning, and our kids need a break from these devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

In particular, lawmakers shared concerns about the addictive nature of smartphones and how they disrupt learning in the classroom. Sponsors pointed to numerous studies linking cellphone use with poor mental health and worse academic performance. <\/p>\n

Combining a pocket-sized handheld computer with addictive apps creates \u201cthe perfect storm \u2026 not just for kids, but frankly for adults too,\u201d said Sen. Steven Santarsiero, a cosponsor.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids actually have to be able to pay attention in class, to absorb what\u2019s happening,\u201d said the former teacher. \u201cBut more than that \u2026 those hours, the minutes between classes and the time spent in recess or in the cafeteria at lunch, that\u2019s time when young people need to be talking to each other. They need to be having those relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaying, \u2018From bell to bell, you\u2019re not using (a phone),\u2019 is what will enable them to do that,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Proposed ban includes exceptions for students with disabilities<\/p>\n

Some early pushback came from parents, including legislators, worried about contacting their children during an emergency, such as a school shooting. <\/p>\n

Santarsiero shared a story from 17 years ago during a 90-minute school lockdown, back when students started using flip phones. As it stretched on, kids texted each other rumors, convinced that a gunman was roaming the halls. <\/p>\n

\u201cKids were understandably becoming hysterical, and it made my job in keeping them calm and quiet much more difficult,\u201d he said. \u201cIt turns out that the lockdown happened because there was a burglary a couple blocks away \u2026 there was never anyone inside the school who had a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my personal experience, these things are not helpful in those circumstances; they are an impediment,\u201d Santarsiero continued. <\/p>\n

In a November hearing<\/a>, school safety experts echoed the need for students to listen to their teachers and school officials in emergencies \u2014 and not be distracted by their cellphone.<\/p>\n

The bill does include exceptions for students with individualized learning programs or other medical needs. Teachers can also request to incorporate the devices into a lesson plan with administrative support.<\/p>\n

Over three dozen states and Washington, D.C. have enacted statewide phone restrictions for students, including 18 with full-day bans or other comprehensive prohibitions.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 1014<\/a> advanced on a 46-1 vote over the opposition of Sen. Dawn Keefer. In a December committee<\/a>, Keefer hesitated to support a one-size-fits-all approach, noting maturity differences between middle grades and high school, and pushed for schools to adopt their own policies<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Kelly Marsh, a mother of three outside of Pittsburgh, is one of the leaders of parent-led PA Unplugged pushing for the law. She called it the \u201cgold standard,\u201d noting the increasing amount of time students report spending on their phones<\/a> during the school day. <\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers, kids, and parents have been tasked with managing the unmanageable. It\u2019s time to recognize that our current approach isn\u2019t working,\u201d said Marsh. \u201cThis type of legislation is an important first step for a much-needed cultural change.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally published by The Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Legislation that would mandate a universal bell-to-bell cellphone ban…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51237,8579,5679,28,30,29,3315,31552,6732],"class_list":{"0":"post-106256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-browse","9":"tag-cell-phones","10":"tag-internet","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","13":"tag-pennsylvania-news","14":"tag-students","15":"tag-teens","16":"tag-youth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}