Shapiro Signs Republican Sen. Robinson's Bell-to-Bell Cellphone Ban for Pennsylvania Schools

Every school in Pennsylvania will have to keep student cellphones out of use from the first bell to the last by the 2027-28 school year under a bill from Republican state Sen. Devlin Robinson that Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Monday at Lenape Middle School in Doylestown.

Senate Bill 1014 cleared the House 141-62 and the Senate 47-3, and it applies to public school districts, charter and cyber charter schools, private and nonpublic schools, career and technical schools and intermediate units, according to the governor’s office. The ban covers lunch, recess and the time between classes. Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks) cosponsored the measure.

“The evidence is clear and obvious: smartphones are harmful to the mental health of kids and teens,” Robinson said, adding that phones “have not, in any way, improved student learning or social growth. In fact, they’ve done the opposite.”

More than 1.7 million K-12 students in public and private schools will fall under the law, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported. Lenape is part of the Central Bucks School District, which already requires students to keep phones off and away, and Shapiro told students the state is now adopting their model.

“What we’re doing is taking the example you set, and the model that you set, and now making sure that all schools across Pennsylvania follow that model,” he said.

Local control is built into the law. Each school writes its own policy, and the bill’s text does not require schools to take physical possession of devices. Exceptions cover documented medical conditions, students whose individualized education programs or 504 plans include a device, English learners who use phones for translation and limited instructional use approved by a principal. Schools must tell parents at the start of each year how to reach their children during the school day and how to sign up for emergency alerts, and that contact line must be staffed.

Parents’ ability to reach their children during a crisis, including a school shooting, was a point of contention during the debate. Asked about it Monday, Shapiro turned to firearms.

“I don’t think we should accept the premise that a student having a phone in their hand or in their pocket makes a school any safer,” he said. “What we need to do is get the guns out of the hands of those people who shouldn’t have them. That’s why we need comprehensive gun reform in this commonwealth and in this country.”

Pennsylvania becomes the 25th state to enact a bell-to-bell policy, according to the governor’s office, which cited the 2025 Pennsylvania Youth Survey finding that 24% of students reported spending four or more hours per school day on social media. Kirstin McGowan, a Bucks County mother and co-leader of the parent coalition PA Unplugged said teens spend “roughly 70 minutes of each school day on their phones, leading to lost learning, lost education and wasted tax dollars.”

Evidence from other states is still early. Florida passed the first bell-to-bell law in 2023, and an early analysis found suspensions rose in the first year as students broke the rule, then fell the next year while learning outcomes improved. “There are some learning benefits over the long run — but not in the initial period,” Harvard professor Paul Peterson said in July.

Christie Besack, a social studies teacher at Central Bucks High School West, said the district’s own ban has worked. “We’ve seen in our district that this works, and I absolutely support making this a consistent expectation across Pennsylvania,” she said.

Schools must adopt and post their policies after an opportunity for public input before Pennsylvania's 2027-28 school year begins.