The Pennsylvania State Senate on Wednesday passed SB 1207, which seeks to amend the Public School Code of 1949 in order to establish a Cell Phone Lockable Bag Pilot Program that would encourage schools to restrict cell phone use among students.
Introduced by State Senator Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster), the legislation would “provide funding to cover the costs of purchasing secure cell phone lockable bags,” which will be available to schools throughout the commonwealth who establish a “policy that prohibits the use of cell phones during school time” and requires students to store their phones in “lockable bags.”
Participating schools will additionally be required to track changes in student mental health, bullying incidents, violence and academic performance after adopting such a policy and receiving the secure bags.
After his bill passed, Aument posted to the social media platform X to celebrate its bipartisan support.
Aument noted the senate “just passed my bill to limit student smartphone use during school by creating a pilot program to test the impacts of phone-free schools on students.” The senator added, “Grateful for strong bipartisan support,” and noted 45 state senators voted in favor of his bill while just five voted against it.
The PA Senate just passed my bill to limit student smartphone use during school by creating a pilot program to test the impacts of phone-free schools on students. Grateful for strong bipartisan support (45-5) for this approach. Learn more: https://t.co/1yF1rxEadw
— Sen. Ryan P. Aument (@SenatorAument) July 3, 2024
The legislation passed the Pennsylvania Senate amid media reports that claim that removing cellular devices from schools helped children in Norway, where all schools were previously directed to prohibit student access to smartphones and tablets.
According to a February 2024 article published by the Social Science Research Network, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, Norway’s decision significantly decreased psychological symptoms for students, with the greatest benefit seen among girls.
The study additionally found that bullying decreased after smartphones were banned, with the greatest benefit seen among girls from modest or poor backgrounds.
Academically, the researchers found banning smartphones may have resulted in a modest improvement.
Grade point averages were found to increase by 0.8 for students who entered middle school after the ban was announced, though students who were exposed to school smartphone use did not see meaningful academic improvement.
Smartphones have been described “the new cigarettes” by some who argue children should not have continuous access to the devices, and in 2022, bans on phones in schools began trending nationwide.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
