State Senator Steve Santarsiero: How a Bell-to-Bell K-12 Cellphone Ban Bill Took Shape
Op-ed by Senator Steve Santarsiero
The Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 1014 last week, a bill to create cellphone-free classrooms from bell-to-bell in K-12 schools across our Commonwealth. As Senator Devlin Robinson (R–37), Senator Vincent Hughes (D–7), and I were writing the bill, we worked with many stakeholders to address concerns from parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members. This policy did not originate in Harrisburg, but in the lived experiences of parents, educators, and students who have seen firsthand how constant access to cellphones is reshaping the school day.