📵 Should we ban phones in Philly schools?

State Legislature Moves to Ban Phones in Schools

As we explain in the article below, a state senate committee unanimously approved a bill yesterday that could keep kids off their phones while at school. State Sen. Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia tells City Cast Philly host Trenae Nuri why he co-sponsored the bill. He also talks about the new law banning hair discrimination and responds to the accusation that SEPTA’s funding emergency was a fake crisis. [🎧 City Cast Philly]

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• Related: The wellness village is one of several initiatives the city is employing to reduce overdose deaths in Philly. [🎧 City Cast Philly]

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Enough talk about slugger Kyle Schwarber leaving us for the Reds or the Mets. He’s a Phillie through-and-through, at least for five more years. The designated hitter is returning to Citizens Bank Park next season with a $150 million contract. [ESPN]

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Until June, lanes on the Schuylkill Expressway between 30th Street and the I-676 interchanges will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and there'll be lane reductions from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. [NBC10]

The Pennsylvania Senate’s education committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would forbid cell phone use on school campuses, with limited exceptions. The bipartisan bill passed through the committee with a unanimous vote, though some revisions were suggested.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes, whose seventh district includes parts of Northwest and West Philadelphia, spoke about the bill in an episode of City Cast Philly. Hughes said teachers across school districts, both “challenged and affluent,” express frustrations with phones in classrooms.

“ You talk to teachers and they will tell you, ‘All right, aside from pay and pension and benefits and that kind of stuff, please get these cell phones out of the schools because I can't get the attention of my children, my students,’” he said.

Nationally, most school leaders reported negative impacts of cell phone use on academic performance, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and they attributed phone usage to students’ declining mental health and attention spans.

“ It only takes a minute to start doom scrolling,” Hughes said. “Next thing you know, it's an hour later or two hours later. You say you are only gonna do it for 10 minutes, just find out what's going on. And it's two hours later.”

Although over 20 states and the District of Columbia ban or restrict phone usage in schools, Pennsylvania is not one of them. In 2024, the state allocated $100 million for schools to purchase lockable bags for phones, but only 18 districts took up the offer.

What’s in the Bill

Senate Bill 1014 would require Pennsylvania schools, both public and private, to implement policies banning phone use during the school day. Exceptions would be made for students with medical conditions or individualized learning plans, English language learners who rely on translation apps, and limited teacher-approved instructional use.

If approved, the bill would go into effect for the 2027-2028 academic year.