June 1, 2026, 5:10 p.m. ET
Pennsylvania lawmakers are getting behind a universal bell-to-bell ban on cell phone use in the commonwealth’s schools.
The House of Representatives on June 1 passed legislation that would require all school districts to adopt phone restrictions while leaving the details up to local officials. The bill, HB1814, is now headed to the Senate, which already passed a different version of the proposal with near-unanimous support.
Under the measure, districts would have to roll out their new ban by the start of the 2027-2028 academic year. Broadly speaking, these rules would have to keep students off their devices during the school day, but district officials would decide the specific manner of accomplishing this goal.
Districts will also have to give parents a way of contacting their children during the day and provide exemptions to the ban for students who need phones for medical reasons or to accommodate a disability, among other reasons.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association praised the House’s 126-75 vote to advance the measure.
“Pennsylvania’s educators have long known that easy student access to personal smartphones, smartwatches and tablets is a problem in our schools,” Aaron Chapin, PSEA president, said in a statement. “These mobile devices disrupt classroom lessons, distract students from learning and facilitate cyberbullying.”
If the proposal clears both sides of the legislature, it will move to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The Democratic governor has already expressed his support for a statewide bell-to-bell ban.
If he signs the legislation, Pennsylvania would join the majority of states that have taken a similar step..
Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia already require schools to impose bell-to-bell phone bans, according to reporting by Education Week. About 10 others restrict the devices for students through the eighth grade or during instructional time.
Bethany Rodgers is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist.
