BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pennsylvania moved closer to a statewide ban on student cellphone use Tuesday, joining a growing movement to curb distractions in classrooms.
Lawmakers voted 46-1 on Senate Bill 1014, bipartisan legislation that would require public schools to adopt "bell-to-bell" policies restricting student use of smartphones and other internet-connected devices throughout the entire school day.
Based on the bill's language, the restrictions would begin no later than the 2027-28 school year.
The legislation now heads to the House for consideration.
If enacted, it would formalize a shift already underway in parts of the Lehigh Valley, where educators and administrators say phones have become a persistent distraction and a growing contributor to anxiety, cyberbullying and disengagement among students.
"Our teachers need this. Our students need this."William Quinn, president of the Easton Area Education Association
In Bethlehem Area School District, school directors last year approved a cellphone policy that tightens restrictions while still carving out limited privileges for high school students.
Under the updated approach, devices would be largely prohibited during instructional time, with carefully defined exceptions designed to balance classroom focus with student independence.
In October, Liberty High School Principal Brandon Horlick said the new device rules initially were met “with some reluctance."
“I feel like while students might not like the idea of being electronic device-free during instructional timeframes, they’ve risen to the occasion,” Horlick said.
Easton Area School District educators also have voiced support in recent days for stronger limits on student phone use, saying access to mobile devices has made it harder to keep students engaged, hijacking their attention while making it harder for teachers to do their jobs effectively.
“Restricting the use of cell phones during the day is good for all of our students, and puts the focus back on academics,” Easton Area Education Association President William Quinn said during the Jan. 27 school board meeting.
“Our teachers need this. Our students need this.”
'They really want cellphones out of schools'
Those local statements mirror those made in Harrisburg, where supporters of Senate Bill 1014 framed the legislation as both an academic and mental health intervention.
“This bill gives students the freedom to focus, connect with peers, and protect their mental health from the pressures of social media,” state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Allegheny, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a news release.
State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, was among 20 co-sponsors of the legislation, and state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Bucks/Lehigh, was among the 46 votes in favor of its advancement.
Coleman said his support for the bill was driven by sustained complaints from parents who felt local school boards failed to act, despite having the authority to do so.
“I’ve heard from constituents, probably over the past two years, that they really want cellphones out of the schools,” Coleman said Wednesday.
“We know that cellphones are a distraction. We know that cellphones have the social media systems on them those are not only a distraction, but they’re also dangerous. They’re predatory toward children.”
"The cellphone really only acts to distract from the learning environment at a time where some of the school districts in the district I represent still struggle to get kids proficient in reading and mathematics."State Sen. Jarrett Coleman
Coleman said phones undermine learning at a time when academic performance remains a concern in parts of his district.
“The cellphone really only acts to distract from the learning environment at a time where some of the school districts in the district I represent still struggle to get kids proficient in reading and mathematics,” he said.
“So it’s a no-brainer to get the cellphones out of the classrooms and to return to focusing on the basics of teaching kids to read, write and be proficient in math.”
Coleman also said the statewide mandate was needed because parents felt ignored.
“What’s frustrating is that constituents have been bringing this up to school boards and to administrators that the cellphone should not be in the classroom, and it was the inaction of the school boards that led us to have to take this step,” he said.
“This was a clear message that if school boards don’t listen to the constituents, we’re just going to go in and do the job for them.”
Coleman also addressed concerns from students and parents who worry about access to phones during emergencies.
“Well before cellphones, of course, we were able to notify folks in case of an emergency,” he said. "Schools have safety mitigation plans. Of course, the teachers have ways to communicate."
He noted that districts still would decide how phones are stored during the day and how policies are implemented.
“The bill allows the districts to come up with a policy that allows them to decide how they’re going to keep the phones out of away from the children during the day,” Coleman said.
Local control, exceptions for some
Unlike many existing district policies that restrict phones only during class time, the legislation would establish a bell-to-bell standard, meaning devices could not be used between classes, at lunch or during other free periods.
Backers argue those unstructured moments are critical for developing social skills and that instructional-time bans simply push phone use into hallways and cafeterias.
The legislation preserves local control by letting districts decide how devices are stored or collected during the day.
If the House approves the measure and Gov. Josh Shapiro signs it into law, Pennsylvania would join 28 states with student cellphone restrictions, including 19 that already enforce bell-to-bell bans.Pennsylvania Legislature
It also includes exceptions for students with medical needs, individualized education plans, English language learners who use phones for translation, limited instructional uses approved by principals, and special single-day events such as field days or science fairs.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, which represents many teachers across the Lehigh Valley, praised the Senate’s action, saying educators have long warned about the toll unrestricted phone use takes on classrooms.
“Pennsylvania’s educators have long known that easy student access to personal smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets is a problem in our public schools,” PSEA Vice President Jeff Ney said in a release.
“These mobile devices disrupt classroom lessons, distract students from learning, and facilitate cyberbullying.”
Supporters of the bill point to national trends showing steep increases in teen anxiety, depression and cyberbullying alongside the rise of smartphones.
They also note that a growing share of teens say they want limits on phone use during the school day.
If the House approves the measure and Gov. Josh Shapiro signs it into law, Pennsylvania would join 28 states with student cellphone restrictions, including 19 that already enforce bell-to-bell bans.
