Automatic $100,000 grants to districts will pay for lockable bags, but the funds may be used for other eligible safety or mental health purposes.

A law signed on Monday by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro allocates $100 million to the School Safety & Mental Health grant program that can be used by schools to purchase secure, lockable smartphone bags students will use to stow their mobile devices until the end of the school day.

The law replaces a House bill that would have mandated cellphone bans in schools and a Senate bill that would have launched a pilot program to fund cellphone restriction efforts in some schools.

Voluntary, Not a Ban

Notably, this legislation does not ban cellphones in schools. Instead, it provides a voluntary framework for schools to limit their use, supported by funding for the lockable bags needed to implement such policies.

Under Act 55 of 2024, each Pennsylvania school district will receive an automatic base grant of $100,000, while intermediate units, area career and technical schools, charter schools, regional charter schools, and cyber charter schools will each receive $70,000.

The funds may be used to launch a cellphone policy or for any of the various existing eligible uses aimed at enhancing school safety and mental health services.

The lead sponsor of the law, Sen. Ryan Aument, said: “This funding is a huge opportunity for any school district looking to address one of the major root causes of the mental health crisis plaguing our kids – smartphones and social media."

Aument vowed to work in the coming weeks to ensure "that every school district in Pennsylvania knows this funding is available to them and that a robust cellphone policy has the power to help them regain their students’ focus in class, restore the social environment on campus, and boost academic performance.”

Practical Steps for Schools

Develop a Cellphone Policy: To qualify for the grant, school districts must develop and adopt an official policy that prohibits the use of cellphones during the school day. This policy should be clearly communicated to students, parents and staff.

Apply for Funding: The law uses the familiar School Safety & Mental Health grant program. Online forms have not yet been updated for the coming school year. The grant program already allowed for 30 eligible uses of funds and this law adds one more use to that approved list. Schools should assess the extent of smartphone use among students in calculating the needs of a cellphone lockup program. Following this assessment, apply for the newly available grant funding to acquire the lockable smartphone bags.

Implement and Monitor: Once the smartphone bags are procured, schools must be prepared to implement the policy by ensuring all students deposit their devices in the bags at the start of the school day. Monitoring and documenting the policy's effectiveness and gathering feedback from the school community is also essential to the long-term success of the policy.

Educate the Community: Educate students and parents about the benefits of reduced smartphone usage, including improved focus in class, a better social environment on campus, and enhanced academic performance.

Resources

For more information on the new law and the effects of cellphones on the learning environment, visit Sen. Ryan Aument webpage on Student Cellphone Restrictions During School

Additional resources are also available at Anxious Generation.

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