![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cellphones-1100x617.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Whitney Downard\/Pennsylvania Capital-Star
\nThe House committees for education and health held a joint hearing to consider cellphones in schools on Nov. 17, but ultimately didn\u2019t come to any conclusion. <\/p>\n
The commonwealth\u2019s school districts might soon need to consider policies related to silent alarms and cell phone use in their buildings. <\/p>\n
The state House committees for education and health held a joint, two-hour hearing Monday for informational purposes, without considering any specific legislation. Lawmakers, however, didn\u2019t appear to come to a consensus on either issue, instead stressing the need for parental involvement and parental rights. <\/p>\n
Nearly a dozen parents from around the state urged lawmakers to support a \u201cbell to bell\u201d cellphone prohibition, part of a 3,000-member coalition dubbed \u201cPA Unplugged.\u201d The group seeks to implement phone-free policies statewide.<\/p>\n
\u201cBell to bell,\u201d as used in the committee meeting, indicated a policy ban from the day\u2019s first morning bell to the last one in the afternoon \u2014 without any exceptions for study halls or lunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf kids are so worried about contacting their parents, they\u2019re not necessarily focused on the adult in the room who\u2019s been trained to give information about what\u2019s coming next and what kids should do to stay safe,\u201d Katie Talarico, a mom from Allegheny County, told the Capital-Star. \u201cWe definitely think, even in the most extreme emergency, it\u2019s best not to have a cellphone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talarico said having dozens or even hundreds of children calling their parents can tie up phone lines, impeding the work of law enforcement. Additionally, she said, \u201cit\u2019s not good for emotional development either.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cKids need the opportunity to practice the skills of independence,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes I wish I could have contact with my kids and find out, \u2018How did that test go?\u2019 But at some point, we have to let kids learn to figure these things out on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
House members who are parents, both Republican and Democratic, had a different take \u2014 with some evoking memories of the September 11th attacks and the relief a quick phone call from their children granted them. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, as a person who experienced 9\/11 as a young person and also as a parent who\u2019s watched numerous school shootings unfold across this country, the idea that I may never be able to hear my child\u2019s voice for the last time in a situation like that is something that weighs heavily upon me,\u201d said Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester.<\/p>\n
On-the-ground impacts<\/p>\n
Some of the teachers, administrators, researchers and security staff testifying before the committees detailed the negative consequences of cell phones in the classroom, including cyberbullying and orchestrating school fights for virality.<\/p>\n
Beth Sanborn, the president of the Pennsylvania Association of School Resources Offices and a school safety coordinator in Montgomery County, said students even ordered food and allowed delivery drivers through secured doors with cellphones.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhone-free policies aren\u2019t about punishment. They\u2019re about protection,\u201d said Sanborn. <\/p>\n
As for parental safety concerns, Sanborn emphasized that \u201cthere is not an emergency plan anywhere that includes student use of a cell phone\u201d to notify parents and said a lack of contact doesn\u2019t indicate that a child is unsafe.<\/p>\n
Mitch Prinstein, the chief of psychology with the American Psychological Association, said data suggest high school students spend one-third of each hour on their devices which \u201clikely\u201d obstructed learning. <\/p>\n
\u201cNot surprisingly, a child\u2019s device in school leads to their poor academic achievement. But perhaps more surprisingly is that the child\u2019s device use is also associated with poor academic achievement for the students sitting behind them,\u201d said Prinstein. <\/p>\n
He also spoke about concerns with AI misuse by young adults, specifically applications geared toward wellness or therapy. He said that some parents had given their child a smartwatch or simply used their school email for contact throughout the day \u2014 though such communications could be subject to disclosure laws.<\/p>\n
Lisa Graham, a school counselor with the Seneca Valley School District in Butler County, said incidents of cyberbullying at her school had decreased following the implementation of a \u201cbell to bell\u201d cellphone ban at her school. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause students aren\u2019t filling their downtime with their phones, they\u2019re developing social and communication skills,\u201d said Graham. \u201cThey\u2019re making new friends and this increased connection fosters a better sense of belonging at school and is benefiting their mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silent alarms <\/p>\n
and emergency responses<\/p>\n
Another group of House members also considered a bill Monday that would compel districts to \u201cconsider\u201d whether or not to invest in a silent alarm system that can notify l law enforcement in an emergency. <\/p>\n
Dubbed \u201cAlyssa\u2019s law,\u201d House Bill 634 was inspired, in part, by the death of Alyssa Alhadeff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018. <\/p>\n
Silent alarms \u2014 including wearable versions or mobile apps \u2014 can be customized for different purposes, such as one push for behavioral assistance or multiple hits for an active shooter. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen seconds matter, immediate notification can and will save lives,\u201d said David Lash, the president of the Pennsylvania Chiefs Association and Chief of Police for the Northern York County Regional Police Department. <\/p>\n
Two of the seven districts in his coverage area have such systems, but the \u201cmost sophisticated\u201d was probably in Delaware County, Lash said. There, the Delaware County Panic Alarm School System (DelPASS) is incorporated throughout the county and integrates law enforcement agencies. <\/p>\n
Such systems aren\u2019t replacements, Lash added, and he still encouraged calls to 911 to share more details. But \u201cpushing a button in a classroom going directly to a 911 center is going to get officers rolling toward that scene.\u201d <\/p>\n
An unknown number of districts have funded such alarms using school safety grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, said Heather Masshardt, the group\u2019s deputy director of school safety and security. <\/p>\n
Masshardt said she couldn\u2019t share specifics, \u201cbecause of safety precautions and data safety requirements under Pennsylvania public school code.\u201d Up to $127 million was available to public, charter and non-public schools, which can also be used for cybersecurity and other purchases. The latest budget increased those dollars by an additional $120 million. <\/p>\n
The grant\u2019s current funding structure allows schools to fund silent alarms after meeting other security requirements, such as keeping exterior doors unpropped and closed or having a buzzer at public entrances. <\/p>\n
The committees didn\u2019t indicate next steps for either topic and adjourned without voting.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For at least the next dozen years, rural areas will continue to have only about two-thirds of the primary care …<\/p>\n <\/p>\n