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Pennsylvania

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FakeNoose

(36,561 posts)
Tue May 7, 2024, 03:30 PM May 2024

Pa. lawmakers pushing bills to have students' cell phones locked away during school hours [View all]

Among lawmakers, recognition of the problem is bipartisan.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette link: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2024/05/06/pennsylvania-legislature-students-cell-phone-education/stories/202405030061

HARRISBURG – As state lawmakers appear close to passing a bill to effectively take cell phones out of the hands of drivers, talk is increasing about taking cell phones out of the hands of students during school. Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, plans to file a bill in the Senate that would do just that. State Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Cumberland, filed one earlier this year that is awaiting action in the House Education Committee.

The concept embraced by both is having students put their phones in a locked container during the school day, and it would be unlocked when classes are over. Mr. Aument also plans to propose a pilot program in which some schools would get state money for “lockable phone bags” and data would be collected to track the program’s effectiveness.

But it’s not the logistics that may trigger an uproar. It’s the mere notion of school students being without access to their phones. A recent study published by the nonprofit Common Sense called getting a cell phone a “rite of passage” for children and adolescents. It found 97% of study participants used their phones for a median of 43 minutes during school hours. Social media use took up 32% of that time.

Mr. Aument cited the recent steep decline in the mental health in children. He pointed out that suicide rates for girls aged 10-14 increased 131% in a recent ten-year period.
- more at link -

Parents and teachers cannot monitor these children during the day and the students can't be trusted to monitor themselves. It makes sense to lock up the phones during class time, at least during the pilot study. If grades and other issues such as class participation and social behavior improve, then we have a win.

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