Pennsylvania Senate passes bill encouraging school districts to ban students’ phone use during day

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Senate has passed legislation to encourage school districts to effectively ban students’ use of cellphones during the school day. The bill passed 45-5 on Wednesday. It would help school districts pay for locking bags after the district creates a policy requiring students to leave their phones in such bags for the whole school day. The bill now goes to the state House for consideration. Its sponsor, Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster, says he hopes that limits on phone use will result in improvements in students’ mental health and academic performance. Participating school districts must track changes in student mental health, bullying, violence and academic performance.