Pennsylvania Funds Smartphone Bags for Schools to Limit Student Phone Use

A teen uses a smartphone in this undated photo. (MementoJpeg/Getty Images)

Pennsylvania schools will be able to use state grants to buy smartphone bags as educators and lawmakers seek to limit students’ use of mobile devices during the school day.

Under a new budget signed on July 11 by Gov. Josh Shapiro, the commonwealth will allocate more than $120 million toward an existing school safety and mental health grant, which has been expanded to provide schools with resources to deal with the cellphone usage problem.

The program provides each school district with an automatic base grant of $100,000. Schools may use the money to buy “secure, lockable smartphone bags” in which students can deposit their mobile devices until the end of the day. Schools must first adopt an official policy to prohibit cellphone usage during school hours.

Other uses for the funding include diversion programs, student risk-assessment training, and counseling services.

“This funding is a huge opportunity for any school district looking to address one of the major root causes of the mental health crisis plaguing our kids—smartphones and social media,” Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument, who spearheaded the change, said.

While this funding and the required cellphone restriction it is tied to it are currently voluntary for school districts, Mr. Aument said he is looking to pursue a statewide prohibition.

“Kids spend so much time on social media and using their smartphones that it’s taking a toll on them mentally, emotionally, and academically,” he said in a July 15 statement. “Students deserve to learn without a constant distraction in their pockets.”

The new law comes amid nationwide debate about the role smartphones and social media play in the deteriorating mental health of young Americans.

In May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on social media’s effect on children, urging tech companies, policymakers, and parents to take “immediate action to protect kids now.”

The advisory, produced as part of Dr. Murthy’s ongoing investigation into what he calls a “national youth mental health crisis,” noted that up to 95 percent of 13- to 17-year-old Americans use a social media platform, with more than a third saying they do so “almost constantly.”

Earlier this year, a Pew Research Center study found that roughly three-quarters of teenagers say they often or sometimes feel happy (74 percent) or peaceful (72 percent) when they don’t have a smartphone.

Several states and major school districts are restricting classroom cellphone use. Ohio and Virginia have ordered all school districts to create policies limiting students’ cellphone usage, while Indiana and Florida have banned those devices in class.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest public school system, overwhelmingly voted to prohibit its more than 429,000 students from using cellphones and social media during the school day. The decision received praise from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has vowed to implement similar restrictions at the state level.

“I look forward to working with the Legislature to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day,” the governor said in June. “When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies—not their screens.”

New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks, who oversees 1,800 schools serving more than 900,000 students, has also spoken in favor of keeping students away from their cellphones. He is expected to announce the details of a cellphone ban while students are on summer break.