Vivienne Brichta, Freshman
The widely supported Pennsylvania Bill that would ban cell phone use from bell-to-bell at schools is passing extremely rapidly, and if it passes, it will likely have a major impact.
If the bipartisan Senate Bill 1014 passes, cell phones will be prohibited in Pennsylvania schools during the entire school day, including lunch periods and study halls. This has some exceptions, like use for students with disabilities/medical conditions, students needing a translator, or when a principal specifically allows phone usage for learning purposes.
The purpose of this bill is to remove cell phones from classrooms to promote a more focused work environment, as well as to combat issues with phone use, such as addiction and mental issues correlated with excessive cell phone use.
Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania, is in full support of SB 1014 and has stated, “I’m calling on the State Legislature to send a bill to my desk requiring our schools to implement policies that take cell phones and mobile devices out of kids’ hands … helping teachers and kids focus on learning.” Shapiro believes passing this bill is a benefit to academic productivity and will approve it if the bill passes Congress.
This bill has also received traction in Pennsylvania’s Congress, with it being passed in the Senate and now being moved through the House of Representatives. Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes wants to create an environment where students can focus on learning and socializing instead of only focusing on their phones. He stated, “And we want our teachers focused on educating students, not policing the use of cell phones and fighting for their attention.”
Both Governor Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Congress are united in pushing the restriction of cell phones, and this seems to reflect local opinions as well.
Teens also seem to be in support of this bill, with reports of teens who would support cell phone restriction getting up to 75% as of last year. Teachers also favor SB 1014, with the Pew Research Center concluding that over 75% of teachers in Pennsylvania support the bell-to-bell ban.
Palisades High School sophomore Amelia Mill feels indifferent about the policy, seeing both the pros and cons: “Having cell phones available during the day [can] be helpful for me because my parents like to text me a lot to check up on stuff, but it can be a hindrance when we’re working on say, group projects because then it can be a distraction.”
Mill continues to explain how, although cell phones help with communication and some forms of work, they can also be distracting from constant notifications and being off task. “Personally, I like having my phone in study halls and lunch, but as long as we were still allowed to have them on the bus, I do not think I would mind,” Mill adds. For students, a change in cell phone use is an inconvenience, but not necessarily bad.
From a teacher’s perspective, Palisades High School teacher Mrs. Colyer is in favor of the plan to exclude cell phones from classrooms. She discusses how she needs to make lesson plans to capture students’ interests so that students don’t switch to their devices, and she adds, “When they do go on their devices, it is stressful to manage and keep up with the tracking of infractions.”
She believes that phone use counters lessons, and teachers subsequently have to work harder to get their message across because they are competing with phone use. Colyer also explains how many students rush through work just to get on their phones faster, and don’t talk to other students as much to discuss classroom material.
SB 1014 will likely get passed due to its large support and will significantly alter how classrooms operate.
Sources:
ICYMI: Gov Shapiro on Bill Limiting Cell Phone Use in Schools | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Bill banning cell phones in Pennsylvania schools passes in Senate | Times Leader
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