Penn Hills lawmaker seeking to ban cellphone use in schools statewide

A new cellphone policy at Penn Hills School District has inspired a Pennsylvania lawmaker to seek to implement legislation for Pennsylvania’s public schools.

Starting in the 2022-23 school year, Penn Hills students will have their phones and other communication devices stored away during the school day. The district made the announcement on Facebook in early May.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, introduced legislation that would prohibit cellphone use in schools.

He said that legislation to reduce cellphone use in classrooms has always been on his mind, but he didn’t know where to start, and seeing the policy introduced at Penn Hills inspired him to work harder on a statewide solution.

“I think this is a good opportunity for everyone to do it because students would be able to communicate and learn better,” he said.

DeLuca said students would be required to store their phones away upon entering their school buildings, and cellphones would be returned at the end of the school day. Parents who need to get in touch with their children can contact the school administration, he said.

District officials are happy to hear DeLuca was inspired by its actions to implement a statewide policy for all schools, superintendent Nancy Hines said.

“I must credit our board of school directors for having the courage to take the steps necessary to limit distractions in the classroom and to help reduce the impact 24/7 social media access is having on student mental health and self-image,” Hines said.

DeLuca said he wants to eliminate the negative influence social media has on students and that he aims to make it a statewide effort because he does not want one school enforcing a policy while others did not.

“We are trying to solve a problem in our schools,” he said.

If the legislation passes, DeLuca said schools will be able to develop policies of their own with the approval of the Department of Education.

Penn Hills High School principal Eric Kostic cited social media’s effects on mental health as to why the policy was put in place. He said face-to-face communication will improve students’ skills and create more meaningful interaction.

During this school year, Penn Hills did a pilot of the cellphone ban at Linton Middle School. Hines said students’ electronics were locked in special boxes instead of pouches. The units were placed in each homeroom. Students checked in their devices at the start of school and retrieved them from homeroom at the end of the day, she said.

Hines said the pilot had a positive impact on student engagement and school culture.