Members of the state Senate Education Committee on Tuesday signaled they’ve largely made up their minds about the need to restrict access to cell phones in K-12 classrooms.
All that remains to win over some is to add language allowing school districts to adapt the policy to fit their needs.
Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, told the panel of Senators that his organization — representing more than 177,000 educators statewide — supports a ban on cell phone use during the school day.
“We’re not just talking about cell phones,” Chapin said. “We’re talking about the smartphones, the fitness trackers, the tablets, and just as terrible are the smart watches.”
The PSEA’s newfound support is a reversal of its longtime opposition to such a statewide policy. Chapin added that any restriction should be a “bell-to-bell” ban. He said during his testimony that a cell phone ban would help remedy the mental health crisis among young students.
“They’ve got depression, they’ve got anxiety and a real lack of emotional regulation,” Chapin said of students.
About 425 of the state’s 500 public schools have already adopted some type of policy restricting electronic device use in the classroom, according to Laura Morton, director of policy services at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
That stat, Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Allegheny, said during the hearing, demonstrates the need for state lawmakers to pass such a ban.
“They have seen some problems in the classroom,” Robinson said. “They’ve heard from their members and taken it upon themselves, so I think that’s why we’re here today.”
Robinson introduced a bill earlier this month that would instruct school districts to adopt “bell-to-bell phone-free” policies that “prohibit the use of” and restrict “possession of” a mobile device while on school property during the school day.
Schools would be required to provide parents with an alternate method of contacting their child during the day, including an office phone number or an email. Students with medical conditions or who are on individualized education plans would be exempt from the ban.
A mobile device is defined in the bill as any “portable electronic device capable of connecting to the internet.”
Sen. Lindsay Williams, D-Allegheny, said she had some concerns about the legislation being overly restrictive. Williams is the ranking Democrat on the Education Committee.
“I read the language as mandating taking possession of (phones from students), and that’s something I’m not prepared to mandate at this point,” Williams said, of Robinson’s legislation.
If enacted, Pennsylvania would join 27 states that have restricted cellphone use in schools — 18 of those states have adopted all-day bans.
Last year, Pennsylvania adopted legislation allowing school districts to use already allocated state funding to purchase cell phone lock bags for use in classrooms. It’s unclear how many school districts have done so.
Student voices
Atticus Mitchell, a 10th-grade student at Danville Area School District, testified that his school’s restrictions on smartphones haven’t caused any issues among his peers.
“I do understand the concerns that come with technology involved within schools, especially psychologically on students that creates anxiety, that FOMO — that fear of missing out. You get that buzz and you want to check it,” Mitchell said.
“But I do understand and believe that educators and teachers and administrations have the ability to do something amazing for students,” he added. “They have the ability to instill and teach students growing up in the world of technology how to properly use their phones as tools, so that when they graduate, go out of the world, they won’t be lost.”
According to the Pew Research Center, about 95% of teenagers generally have access to a smartphone, and 38% of students report they spend too much time on them.
Robinson has linked the consistent decline of math and reading test scores since 2012 and the spike in youth suicides with the rise of cell phone ownership.
Still, not all students agree with the ban.
While 72% of Pew’s respondents said they felt “peaceful” without their smartphones, 44% said it made them feel anxious.
Camryn Hoover, a Milton Area School District 12th grader, told senators she supports guardrails on how best to use cell phones in schools, but not an outright ban.
“I believe that entirely banning cell phones would leave our students feeling disrespected and untrusted,” Hoover said.