At the start of each block at EHS, students reluctantly approach the front of the room to neatly place their phones in containers. The phones will rest there until the end of the block. However, a new bill proposed and passed in the Pennsylvania Senate could further restrict students’ ability to use their phones in school.

Senate Bill 1014 was proposed, introducing a “bell-to-bell phone-free policy,” On Feb. 2, the bipartisan bill was unanimously passed through the Senate, and it now waits at the House Education Committee for consideration. This bill, if passed, would prohibit the use of mobile devices during the school day, with limited exceptions.

According to the current bill, “No later than the start of the 2027-28 school year, the governing body of each school entity shall adopt a policy related to student possession and use of mobile devices during the school day while on school property… and shall: (i) prohibit the use of a mobile device during the school day while on school property; and (ii) establish the manner in which a student’s possession of a mobile device is to be restricted during the school day while on school property.”

In a Google Forms poll, The Stinger asked students about their opinions on whether the law is a rational or irrational decision with student safety in mind, as well as if the complete removal of phones would increase or decrease actual phone usage.