Pennsylvania lawmakers consider changes to school cellphone policy
As Butler County school districts such as Seneca Valley and Slippery Rock Area adjust policies limiting cellphone usage in their classrooms, state legislators are considering action that would standardize cellphone policies.
A group of senators, including Devlin Robinson, R-37th, Vincent Hughes, D-7th, and Sen. Steven Santarsiero, D-10th, issued a memo earlier this summer saying they plan to introduce new bills restricting cellphone use in all 500 Pennsylvania public school districts.
In the memo, dated July 28, the trio said they intend to introduce legislation that would make Pennsylvania schools phone-free.
The memo cites a series of studies that point to smartphones negatively impacting the mental health of children.
One study by the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities included in the memo shows children who receive smartphones before the age of 13 are “significantly more likely to experience serious mental health problems in early adulthood including aggression, emotional instability and suicidal thoughts.”
“The impact of these addictive devices in schools cannot be ignored,” the memo said.
A total of 18 states now have school day bans on cellphone usage, with a vast majority of them having been approved within the last year, according to the Associated Press. Seven other states banned cellphones during class time, but not between classes or during lunch.
The news comes as Seneca Valley School District — the largest district in Butler County — has banned cellphone use during the school day.
Since the start of the 2025-26 school year, students are not allowed to use their cellphones at school. Students may keep their phones with them but the staff should not see or hear them, according to the new policy.
Meanwhile, a new policy in Slippery Rock Area School District limits cellphone usage in a different way.
The policy introduces requirements for students to store their phones in their lockers for the entirety of the day unless explicit permission is granted.
The new policy will also cover smartwatches, wireless earbuds, headphones and any other electronic communication device.
Jesse Pattison, the district’s high school assistant principal, said the reason behind tightening restrictions is to address issues related to distractions, unsolicited pictures and videos, and the ability to spread misinformation among students. The administration also recognized societal challenges, such as increases in anxiety and depression, and struggles with forming connections.
“We’ve talked about a ‘phone zone’ or ‘communication station’ where kids know that if they need to communicate with somebody at home, we want them to be able to do that. We always have, but we want them to do it appropriately,” Slippery Rock Area High School principal Cory Hake said during a March school board meeting.
Not every school district in Butler County has a similar approach.
Lindsay Rosswog, principal at Mars Area High School, said recently there are no major changes to cellphone policy from previous years.
“We are just trying to remain as consistent as we can with enforcing it,” Rosswog said.
While Mars Area School District’s policy generally requires student cellphones to be out of sight and earshot, students can still use them as a tool for academic purposes, Rosswog said. She said it is crucial to learn how to use technology to improve efficiency, but also to learn when to put it away.
“We’re just working to find that balance. The students all very clearly know what the expectations are,” Rosswog said.
Rosswog said in each classroom the teacher has the control to determine what is appropriate for their classroom space. Some teachers hold phones for the duration of class, others just have the students put it in their bags and some let students have the cellphones out as long as they are not distracting others.
According to Rosswog, this provides teachers with flexibility so they can make decisions based on circumstances, such as the age of students. Younger students may find it harder to control their cellphone use, but seniors are expected to manage themselves since they will be heading to college soon where nobody will supervise them, Rosswog said.
Some students in special circumstances may also need cellphones at all times, such as someone with diabetes who monitors their blood sugar levels on personal devices, Rosswog said.
“We just want to make sure that we aren’t making a policy that is not flexible at all,” Rosswog said.
Mars used to collect cellphones back in the early 2000s during classtime, Rosswog said, but hasn’t had a policy like that recently. The district is not considering such an approach at this point.
Rosswog said there are many positives of technology but the district wants students to be able to navigate back and forth between technology and more traditional methods, such as pen and paper and hard cover books.
“Being able to navigate both of those worlds effectively will only be beneficial to them moving forward,” Rosswog said.
