A major change in schools is sweeping across America — here’s what it would mean for your child

Pennsylvania has become the first state to pilot a program that would allow students’ cellphones to remain locked during the school day.

Republican Sen. Ryan Aument, 47, of the Pennsylvania State Senate, sponsored the bill and shared his concern that smartphones are a major distraction for students when it comes to learning and negatively impact their mental health. .

The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee agreed to pilot a grant program that would provide certain schools with lockable secure bags that would hold students’ cellphones until the end of the day.

The proposed grant program would also provide educational staff with lockers to store their smartphones.

The program will continue for two years before a decision is made on whether to expand it to other schools in the state.

The proposed legislation also implements a performance review of the cell phone storage plan, tracking students’ academic performance and mental health for two years to see how effective the program is.

“I can’t think of another issue I’ve worked on in the 14 years I’ve been here that has had as much impact as this one,” Aument said this week during a Senate Education Committee hearing.

“I think it’s extremely important that we free our children from these devices for six and a half hours during the school day, and the response we’ve received from parents and educators has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said.

‘There has been compelling data and research pointing to declines in student mental health and academic performance, as well as student physical health, and a direct correlation and strong evidence of direct causation with increased access to smartphones among adolescents and access to social networks. teenagers,” Aument said.

Yondr has made $2.5 million in eight years selling lockable pouches made specifically for cellphones to state governments and is now promoting its product in schools.

According to the Pew Research Center, the average teenager will spend about three and a half hours a day on social media by 2023, and this is detrimental to their mental health.

According to the Pew Research Center, The average teenager spent about three and a half hours a day on social media in 2023.

One high school teacher, Justin Neideigh, said he has seen positive impacts when students’ cell phone use is limited.

“Bullying, cyberbullying, sexting, all these TikTok trends, all these things that were never in the classroom before, they are now,” Neideigh said. WGAL.

The bill requires the Pennsylvania Commission on Delinquency and Crime’s School Safety Committee to allocate funds to a selection of schools that participate in the program.

Following a mandatory performance review two years later, the committee would prepare a report for the governor and General Assembly, who would then make a decision on whether to expand the program to a broader scope of students.

Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called on social media platforms to impose an immediate warning label, similar to the warnings on cigarette packages mandated by Congress in the 1960s. .

Once the legislation is reviewed by the full state Senate, the findings could be included in the next state budget.

Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called for social media platforms to impose an immediate warning label, similar to the warnings on cigarette packages required by Congress in the 1960s.

“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency, and social media has emerged as a major contributor,” Murthy wrote in a New York Times Monday’s opinion piece.