Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a statewide ban on student cellphone use during the school day, after the state Senate approved the bill 47-3 on Wednesday, October 21. The state House had passed it earlier this week by 141-62, and Governor Josh Shapiro has pledged to sign it, 28/22 News (WHTM) reported.

Source: 28/22 News (WHTM)

The measure, Senate Bill 1014 sponsored by Senator Devlin Robinson, a Republican from Allegheny County, would require schools to adopt policies prohibiting phones during the school day and describing how a student's possession of a phone is to be restricted. Schools must have their policies in place by the start of the 2027-28 school year, according to reporting by 90.5 WESA and the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

Source: 90.5 WESA / Pennsylvania Capital-Star

The ban is not absolute. Exceptions would be made for students or immediate family members with certain medical conditions, for English-as-a-second-language learners who use phones for translation, for single-day special occasions such as field days or science fairs, for students whose individualized education plans require a personal communication device, and for cases a school principal allows, the reports said.

Supporters in both parties argued phones are pulling students' attention away from learning. Democratic Representative Mandy Steele of Allegheny County told the House, according to The Center Square, that children are being held captive by big tech, while Governor Shapiro said in January that students need to spend time focused on learning. Critics in the House debate raised concerns that some exceptions could be stretched, but the bill passed both chambers with large bipartisan majorities.

Once the governor signs it, Pennsylvania will join the growing list of US states with a bell-to-bell school phone rule. For Punjabi and other immigrant families in the state, the practical change arrives in classrooms in 2027-28: phones stored away from the first bell to the last, except where a listed exception applies.