The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee unanimously approved the “Phone-Free Schools” bill earlier this month.
Senate Bill 1014 would require schools to implement “bell-to-bell” cellphone-free policies, with reasonable exceptions including: students with medical conditions; students with individualized education plans requiring the use of a personal communication device; English language learners who rely on translation apps; and limited teacher-approved instructional use with approval from the school principal.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The bill “aims to curb classroom distractions, improve academic performance, and address growing concerns about youth mental health and social development,” according to a press release from primary sponsor Senator Devlin Robinson.
An excerpt from the bill’s memo:
Each year, more and more studies are showing the negative impact of smartphones on the development of our children. Historical data shows a steep decline in mental health in children between 2010-2019 where rates of depression and anxiety rose 50%, the suicide rate for adolescents ages 10-19 rose 48%, while the suicide rate for girls ages 10-14 rose and astonishing 131%.
Just last week, a new study published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities found that children who receive smartphones before the age of 13 were significantly more likely to experience serious mental health problems in early adulthood including aggression, emotional instability, and suicidal thoughts.
Yet the average age for a child to have a smartphone in Pennsylvania is reportedly 10.5, a number that seems to get younger every year.
We also know children and teens are using their smartphones excessively. Between 2010-2015, US teens with smartphones rose from 23% to 73%, with a quarter admitting to being online “almost constantly”. Now, teens spend an average of nearly eight hours a day on their phones, equivalent to a full-time job, and receive an average of 237 notifications on their phone a day.
If passed, Pennsylvania would join 27 other states that have restricted cellphone use in schools. Eighteen of those states enforce all-day bans.