House passes bill requiring schools to ban cellphone use from ‘bell to bell’

The Senate has OK’d similar legislation, and Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the concept.

By TOM FONTAINE
TribLive

A bill that passed the state House on Monday would require Pennsylvania schools to ban students’ use of cellphones from the first bell of the school day to the last.

The bipartisan bill, sponsored by state Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, which previously passed similar legislation of its own. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has expressed support for restricting cellphone use in schools.

“Children’s mental health, academic health and physical health is being dramatically impacted by these screens. This is the biggest threat to children’s health and well-being that I can think of,” Steele said in a phone interview.

Steele said some school districts across the state have taken steps to address the issue, but there “needs to be a uniform, state-level policy.”

An analysis by Education Week shows 29 states have so-called “bell-to-bell” cellphone bans in place, eight prohibit use during classes and two states don’t specify how far schools should go in restricting cell usage. A dozen states, including Pennsylvania, don’t have a statewide policy.

Steele’s bill would require the state’s schools to develop their own bell-to-bell policies.

“It is up to the school district to craft a policy on how that is going to be done and all the policies that will be associated with this law. The school districts will determine how to handle violations of the policy,” she said.

The bill would allow for some exceptions, including for students who need to use a mobile device for medical reasons, approved educational purposes or language translation during classes.

The bill does not include any provisions for the state to provide funding to schools to help implement policies.

“Because school districts would retain their ability on how to implement this policy, in many cases there is absolutely no cost to their district. The kids can keep their phones with them in their backpacks, as long as they are off and away,” Steele said.

State Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Brighton Heights, one of 20 Democrats to oppose the bill, said the legislation should have “put some money behind this if we’re going to require schools to ban cellphones.”

Many schools across the country have spent money to implement cellphone restrictions, with some paying an estimated $30 per student to buy Yondr pouches in which students store their phones during school and then unlock them when the day ends, NBC News reported.

Kinkead said she also voted against the legislation because she argued “we should not be banning cellphones until we address gun violence in schools.”

“It goes hand in hand. If there is a school shooting, we have seen cases where it is students with cellphones who are able to get the word out, so cutting off that lifeline is problematic,” she said.

Steele said some public safety officials testified during legislative hearings that cellphones can also have a detrimental effect on safety in emergency situations.

Children on cellphones can be distracted from following potentially lifesaving crisis protocols or the direction of school officials, and sounds and lights from phones could also put students at risk. Hundreds of students simultaneously trying to use their cellphones also could strain cellular networks, she said.

As for studies highlighting the detrimental impacts of cellphone use, Kinkead said, “I agree that kids are not able to maintain the attention span they need to learn, and cellphone use can be disruptive to their learning and the learning of other students. I’m not sure a state-level mandate is the way to solve the problem.”

A Pew Research Center survey conducted last year showed 74% of U.S. adults supported banning middle and high school students from using cellphones in class, while 44% were in favor of full-day bans. Among teens, 41% supported an inclass ban and just 17% were on board with a bell-to-bell ban, Pew reported in January.

Steele’s bill passed the House on a 126-75 vote, with support from 82 Democrats and 44 Republicans. Twenty Democrats and 55 Republicans opposed the bill.